Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 139147	2015-03-17 23:38:00	GST on overseas purchases, is it workable ?	1101 (13337)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1396650	2015-03-17 23:38:00	The govt is considering ways to collect gst from overseas online purchases. Is this going to be workable or just turn into a costly mess Just who is going to check every package entering NZ & somehow check the declared value is correct I see its partly been driven by retailers & Lightbox crying unfair & pushing for this. The world has changed, unlike 20 years ago, we can all see just how much products should be costing us & sometimes avoid NZ stores because of this, or just buy from The Warehouse. What some countries now do, is that sales tax (gst, VAT etc) is collected by an agency or courier. They add another $60ish in collection fee, chargeable to the purchaser . So the $6 watch i bought online last week, would cost me another $65 just to have it released once it arrives in NZ. I dont mind paying the gst, I really do mind paying the $60+ colection fees. If I buy a US service , then should NZ be able to tax that US purchase . If I go overseas & buy that same service , NZ has zero right to tax it then. That US based company is paying US tax, should NZ be able to demand a 2nd tax on that same service ?	1101 (13337)
1396651	2015-03-17 23:57:00	They mentioned something about having the retailer collecting it. I can see places like Amazon go, "screw that, no more shipping to NZ" instead of going through all that hassle. A lot of the DVD/Blu-ray sets I buy aren't even available here, so no local retailer is missing out on those sales.	Renegade (16270)
1396652	2015-03-18 00:10:00	It already happens on bigger purchase from sites like Amazon. This morning I was pricing a Nexus 9 from Amazon, $349 US vs $631 NZ at PBtech locally but after adding shipping, converting to NZ dollars, and a import duty "deposit" (I think it's potentially refundable depending on actual charges) it comes to $634NZ so what looked like a big saving turns out to cost more. I have saved a bit on E-bay from time to time but mainly I buy from overseas for things that are not easily available here.	dugimodo (138)
1396653	2015-03-18 00:14:00	They mentioned something about having the retailer collecting it. I think Itunes do that now (could be wrong) But there would be zero chance of that working for ebay sales or online purchasing from Chinese online sellers . Some US ebay sellers now add in NZ tax's + collection fees (non refundable). Its the collection fees that kills it,and you would be mad to pay it, you just go to another ebay seller that doesnt add NZ tax/fees Didn't Neflix say they wont be adding gst (quite rightly from their perspective) Some mention charging gst on credit card purchases: that wont work as how will they separate NZ sales from overseas sales. And its not that hard to purchase overseas without a credit card . Customs/govt have allready said its not worth the cost of collecting gst on imported goods under $400 , so would they be collecting every last cent, at a loss, just to keep the retailers happy ?	1101 (13337)
1396654	2015-03-18 00:28:00	That US based company is paying US tax, should NZ be able to demand a 2nd tax on that same service ? This gets complicated fast. For instance, why is YouShop's warehouse located in Portland, Oregon? Because Oregon doesn't have a sales tax.	Cato (6936)
1396655	2015-03-18 01:26:00	Yes Mr Key said a song $1.29 the GST would be 2c. Hmm, and he was in finance? It's 18c..... I really don't care, if retailers think thats why we buy overseas, well, think again. My brothers glasses for instance, he paid $549 to Specsavers here. I looked on Zenni and he could have paid $60 NZ inc shipping or $81NZ inc shipping - 2 different frames like he got here. I bought a replacement battery for husbands drill a while ago. NZ$48 in shipping from overseas. Here they wanted $160 (De Walt). A certain ointment I use on my feet, is half price getting it from Aussie, that is half NZ $, including shipping cost. I bought some aspirins from Amazon a while ago, got sick of Countdowns price (only place I could find non-heart aspirin, non-dissolvable) I got 1500 for $21NZ inc shipping. And most of that was shipping - I used that ship2u place. And so on.....add GST to all that, it's still miles cheaper.	pctek (84)
1396656	2015-03-18 01:41:00	What pctek said. It's still way cheaper overseas in a lot of instances, even IF they add GST to the price (Not a "$60 fee" though - That's totally dumb) I imported around 20 devices at the time the Nexus 4 / 10 came out straight from Google in the US, mostly for family and friends (And PF1'ers). No GST on them but paid the respective US taxes. Had a couple left over, sold them off on TradeMe, make over NZD$100 on them, and still it was around $150 cheaper for the punters buying them vs The Warehouse Stationery / 2degrees at the time.	Chilling_Silence (9)
1396657	2015-03-18 06:10:00	They mentioned something about having the retailer collecting it. I can see places like Amazon go, "screw that, no more shipping to NZ" instead of going through all that hassle. A lot of the DVD/Blu-ray sets I buy aren't even available here, so no local retailer is missing out on those sales. And if Amazon said no, what's the NZ Gov going to do. Take them to court in New York??	paulw (1826)
1396658	2015-03-18 06:57:00	The transaction should be recorded where it is initiated, not where the company is based. Only all international websites should be this way not just nz	Gobe1 (6290)
1396659	2015-03-18 07:26:00	GST on overseas purchases has always been around for a while, its considered importing but if its under $500, its not taxed. All items brought into NZ have to be declared and the value declared too. Its Customs job to check this and items won't be released till the cost is covered or you have an arranged agreement. Unfortunately its been 4 years since I was a custom broker so laws may have changed in that time and I mainly did exports (beef). So, maybe they will lower the limit but I still think for personal items it should be waved but it will open more loops in the system that customs couldn't control. Just to add to this, market value should drive prices not margins, NZ is expensive because local businesses need to make money from us, so high margins, exchange rate does little, price of gas reflects this drastically, even though our dollar had been strong enough to recover, its greed that they've tasted and they all want more, including the government who allows it to happen. Cheers, KK	Kame (312)
1 2