GST to be charged on purchases below $400

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Networkn
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#2005847 1-May-2018 11:50

evilengineer:

I don't understand all the "new tax" faux outrage aimed at the new government.

National had been flagging this as coming down the track for at least 2 years.

You'd still be getting this "new tax" regardless of whether Red or Blue was in charge.

It's not about red or blue. It's about promises made, and promises broken.

National never campaigned on new taxes, Labour did. Don't even get me started on all the other promises they made and have already broken. There is no faux outrage, it's real outrage.

Geektastic

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#2005855 1-May-2018 11:58

networkn:
mdf:

I think it would be far more equitable to charge (say) a 1% fee on everything for border processing, perhaps up to a maximum.

This *would* be much fairer.

I still think we pay Customs via the taxation system to do their job.

Why should an item like a book need a bio security levy when it does not get one in my suitcase when I fly in from overseas?

And if it’s user pays, why aren’t people arriving at airports pinged with a $50 fee to clear customs and bio security?

Also, what will the government do to tackle the random 10% Duty they levy on imported shoes and clothing - which is probably 90+% of clothing and shoes sold in NZ - on top of the GST? Why should clothes and shoes have a 10% tax?

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#2005856 1-May-2018 11:59

This could be good news, looks as if they're scrapping the customs & biosec fees:

"GST is collected at the border for goods over $400. We propose making offshore suppliers collect GST on low value goods at the moment of sale, and in turn, buyers of these goods will no longer pay Customs tariffs or border security and biosecurity fees.

"This will simplify compliance and administration costs at the border. This supports the focus of Customs to make cross-border transactions easier without compromising the need to keep out illicit substances and materials."

Taken from https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12042753

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#2005858 1-May-2018 12:00

kobiak:
I see it this way. Government can collect it, but it costs more to collect then collected amount.

Government would like to push cost of collection to online retailers (big names only), give them account number for payments and that's it (well I guess they will do audit or somehow, total volume sales * 15% = tax).

I guess amazon, ebay, aliexpress, asos will play by the rules, but all the rest - meh. volume of sales is low to implement the required. NZ is small, and NO one gives a darn about it, if it's not MILK (China soon won't too) :(

What would they do if Amazon just laughed and said “On yer bike!” I wonder?

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#2005888 1-May-2018 12:09

Geektastic:

Why should an item like a book need a bio security levy when it does not get one in my suitcase when I fly in from overseas?

And if it’s user pays, why aren’t people arriving at airports pinged with a $50 fee to clear customs and bio security?

Also, what will the government do to tackle the random 10% Duty they levy on imported shoes and clothing - which is probably 90+% of clothing and shoes sold in NZ - on top of the GST? Why should clothes and shoes have a 10% tax?

This is the thing, you DO pay a fee. It's part of the cost of your arrival in NZ, either paid as part of your ticket, or as part of your arrival or leaving taxes.

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#2005889 1-May-2018 12:09

Benjip:
This could be good news, looks as if they're scrapping the customs & biosec fees:

"GST is collected at the border for goods over $400. We propose making offshore suppliers collect GST on low value goods at the moment of sale, and in turn, buyers of these goods will no longer pay Customs tariffs or border security and biosecurity fees.

"This will simplify compliance and administration costs at the border. This supports the focus of Customs to make cross-border transactions easier without compromising the need to keep out illicit substances and materials."

Taken from https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12042753

The implication is that they will however continue to pay them over the $400 mark. This leads to a logic failure where $399 worth of books (say) need no border security fees but $401 worth of books do, despite being (for example) actually the same books sent at slightly different cost from the same location...

Also, why is shipping subject to GST? If you ship from London to Auckland, 99% of the service is consumed outside NZ....

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#2005893 1-May-2018 12:23

networkn:
Geektastic:

Why should an item like a book need a bio security levy when it does not get one in my suitcase when I fly in from overseas?

And if it’s user pays, why aren’t people arriving at airports pinged with a $50 fee to clear customs and bio security?

Also, what will the government do to tackle the random 10% Duty they levy on imported shoes and clothing - which is probably 90+% of clothing and shoes sold in NZ - on top of the GST? Why should clothes and shoes have a 10% tax?

This is the thing, you DO pay a fee. It's part of the cost of your arrival in NZ, either paid as part of your ticket, or as part of your arrival or leaving taxes.

However, we also pay Customs from general taxation, so it seems to me that they are getting a lot of money one way or another; if it is user pays at the border and user pays when we import goods, which bit of Customs is being paid for by our taxes?

networkn

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#2005898 1-May-2018 12:27

Geektastic:
networkn:

Geektastic:

Why should an item like a book need a bio security levy when it does not get one in my suitcase when I fly in from overseas?

And if it’s user pays, why aren’t people arriving at airports pinged with a $50 fee to clear customs and bio security?

Also, what will the government do to tackle the random 10% Duty they levy on imported shoes and clothing - which is probably 90+% of clothing and shoes sold in NZ - on top of the GST? Why should clothes and shoes have a 10% tax?

This is the thing, you DO pay a fee. It's part of the cost of your arrival in NZ, either paid as part of your ticket, or as part of your arrival or leaving taxes.

However, we also pay Customs from general taxation, so it seems to me that they are getting a lot of money one way or another; if it is user pays at the border and user pays when we import goods, which bit of Customs is being paid for by our taxes?

Customs is responsible for far more than just border security at the entry points to the country such as airports and ports. They are the most powerful organization in NZ, their purview and powers far outstrip that of the police.

evilengineer

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#2005899 1-May-2018 12:28

networkn:

It's not about red or blue. It's about promises made, and promises broken.

National never campaigned on new taxes, Labour did. Don't even get me started on all the other promises they made and have already broken. There is no faux outrage, it's real outrage.

And would you have felt the same level of outrage if a National government had introduced this "new tax" or "tax increase" (which they would have) despite promising to "lower taxes" during the election?

You can call it a fine distinction if you like, but extending an existing tax isn't quite the same as introducing a new one. Such as capital gains tax, which is what that promise was really intended to cover off in the minds of the voters after all the $11Bn hole scare mongering from National.

Even if you really want to call it a "lie", its still pretty small beer compared to some of the recent world class whoppers like "Drain the Swamp" and "An Extra GBP 350m a week for the NHS".

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#2005901 1-May-2018 12:30

evilengineer:

You can call it a fine distinction if you like, but extending an existing tax isn't quite the same as introducing a new one. Such as capital gains tax, which is what that promise was really intended to cover off in the minds of the voters after all the $11Bn hole scare mongering from National.

A capital gains tax wouldn't actually be a new tax either.

networkn

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#2005902 1-May-2018 12:31

evilengineer:

networkn:

It's not about red or blue. It's about promises made, and promises broken.

National never campaigned on new taxes, Labour did. Don't even get me started on all the other promises they made and have already broken. There is no faux outrage, it's real outrage.

And would you have felt the same level of outrage if a National government had introduced this "new tax" or "tax increase" (which they would have) despite promising to "lower taxes" during the election?

You can call it a fine distinction if you like, but extending an existing tax isn't quite the same as introducing a new one. Such as capital gains tax, which is what that promise was really intended to cover off in the minds of the voters after all the $11Bn hole scare mongering from National.

Even if you really want to call it a "lie", its still pretty small beer compared to some of the recent world class whoppers like "Drain the Swamp" and "An Extra GBP 350m a week for the NHS".

Yes, I would have felt the exact same way. Lying is lying regardless of who is doing it.

To be fair, JA is responsible for some of the biggest lies in the last year. She also promised greater honesty and transparency, none of which we have. In fact it's worse than it was before.

There is a big hole, Labour are filling it with money they lied to obtain, such as all these new taxes. If they weren't generating all this extra income, what do you think that hole looks like?

On your logic, pretty much Labour has carte blance to increase taxes to whatever they want so long as they don't call it something new. Income tax could go up by 5% and that would be ok, because it's not a new tax.

You didn't pay it before, you pay it now, it's new. End of story. They lied. Again. You can make yourself feel better about it however you like, facts remain.

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#2005935 1-May-2018 12:41

Geektastic:

The implication is that they will however continue to pay them over the $400 mark. This leads to a logic failure where $399 worth of books (say) need no border security fees but $401 worth of books do, despite being (for example) actually the same books sent at slightly different cost from the same location...

Also, why is shipping subject to GST? If you ship from London to Auckland, 99% of the service is consumed outside NZ....

Did you see the graphic with the jacket/t-shirt in that NZH article? It makes it seem like you wouldn't pay any tariffs/fees for importing (other than GST).

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#2005936 1-May-2018 12:43

I read in article large sellers only?

So if I buy off someone that is not a well heard of name no charge.
Difference in price is way more then 15% so GST makes no difference to buying overseas, just worried if overseas supplier finds it a hassle, and don’t supply or up the costs by more then 15%

networkn

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#2005937 1-May-2018 12:45

I imagine there will be some sort of random stop and audit, if it arrives and you can't prove you paid GST at the source, you will pay and an admin fee on top.

I am guessing, I have not seen anything to support that, other than common sense and logic.

They will be hard pressed to audit digitally delivered items, but I am sure they will include this in random audits of something and tax a pound of flesh for that too.

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#2005938 1-May-2018 12:47

Benjip:

Geektastic:

The implication is that they will however continue to pay them over the $400 mark. This leads to a logic failure where $399 worth of books (say) need no border security fees but $401 worth of books do, despite being (for example) actually the same books sent at slightly different cost from the same location...

Also, why is shipping subject to GST? If you ship from London to Auckland, 99% of the service is consumed outside NZ....

Did you see the graphic with the jacket/t-shirt in that NZH article? It makes it seem like you wouldn't pay any tariffs/fees for importing (other than GST).

The graphic gives the example of a $300 item, which is currently under the limit. It implies that duty on clothing would disappear and be replaced by GST only. It does not give any indication of what happens when the package cost reach $400 however.

As what we have seen so far is only a proposal, with legislation yet to be written, Geektastic's concerns remain valid.

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