Amazon unblocks Oz shoppers from US store Archive
Australian consumers are now able to purchase and ship items from Amazon’s international website, according to a statement from Amazon. The retailer suspended shipping to Australian addresses from its international website...
India reduces GST on ebooks Archive
In India, the GST Council has announced that GST on ebooks will be reduced from 18% to 5%, but the lack of clarity has left publishers ‘perplexed’, reports the Hindu. The...
Book Depository to remit GST from July Archive
Amazon-owned online retailer Book Depository has confirmed it will collect and remit GST on overseas purchases from July, when the new tax laws come into effect, reports the Australian Financial...
Amazon to block Oz shoppers from Amazon US Archive
Australian consumers will be unable to purchase items from Amazon’s international websites as the multinational moves to comply with new GST laws affecting online retailers, reports the Sydney Morning Herald....
New report argues GST exemption should stay Archive
Extending the GST to internationally purchased online goods worth less than $1000 is unlikely to improve Australian retailing, according to a report by free-market think-tank the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA).Citing a...
Decision on GST threshold pushed to March 2014 Archive
The decision to collect GST from overseas suppliers for online purchases below $1000 has been pushed back until March 2014, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. As previously reported by Books+Publishing,...
GST issue ‘on the agenda’ at federal and state treasurers’ meeting Archive
A move to collect GST from overseas suppliers for online purchases below $1000 will be discussed at a meeting between federal treasurer Joe Hockey and his state and territory counterparts...
Industry associations raise GST issue with new government as ABS reveals over $7 billion spent on purchases below LVT Archive
The value of online purchases below the current Low Value Threshold (LVT) for collecting Australian Goods and Services Tax (GST) reached more than $7 billion in the 2012-13 financial year, according...
NZ govt working party to consider reducing tax-free threshold on overseas purchases Archive
The New Zealand Government has established a ‘working party’ to consider reducing the country’s current tax-free threshold on overseas purchases, reports Business Day. The working party has been established by...
NZ GST research to be considered by parliamentary committee Archive
A study into New Zealand’s goods and services tax (GST) arrangements that was commissioned by Booksellers New Zealand will be considered by the New Zealand Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee,...
Becker: How the GST threshold on overseas purchases can be lowered to one cent Archive
Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) CEO Joel Becker has written a blog post on the Council of Small Business Australia website calling for Australian leaders to ‘show some gumption’ and close the GST ‘loophole’. In...
NZ study proposes cut to tax-free threshold for online purchases, recommends tax collection through ‘multilateral agreement’ Archive
A study commissioned by Booksellers New Zealand and produced by Victoria University’s New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation has recommended that the New Zealand government drastically...
Government gives ‘in principle’ support to lowering GST threshold but rules out immediate change Archive
The Federal Government has released an interim response to the recommendations made by its Low Value Parcel Processing Taskforce earlier this year, giving ‘in principle’ support for the recommendation to lower...
Taskforce recommends new approach to processing low value parcels Archive
The Federal Government’s Low Value Parcel Processing Taskforce has delivered its final report to government, recommending that reform to the current arrangements for processing low value goods from overseas suppliers...
Government responds to BISG recommendations Archive
The Federal Government has formally responded to the recommendations made by the Book Industry Strategy Group (BISG) last year. As previously reported by Bookseller+Publisher, the BISG made 21 recommendations in...
Preliminary report recommends GST on imported goods should be payable by offshore suppliers Archive
A preliminary report commissioned by the Federal Government’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) Distribution Review has recommended that GST revenue currently forgone on imported goods below the ‘low value threshold’...
BISG: the recommendations Archive
More than a year in the making, the Book Industry Strategy Group report to government has finally been delivered. Here are the main recommendations: Released publicly in November 2011, the...
Government to establish Retail Council in response to PC inquiry; taskforce to look at parcel processing Archive
The federal government has announced that it will establish the Retail Council of Australia in response to the Productivity Commission's final report in its public inquiry into the Economic Structure...
Industry, politicians respond to BISG recommendations Archive
The Book Industry Strategy Group's final report to government, which was handed over to the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Senator Kim Carr last week, has attracted a variety...
BISG recommendations announced Archive
The Book Industry Strategy Group (BISG) has recommended the timetable for retention of territorial copyright in Australia be reduced from 30/90 days to 14/14 days in its final report to...
