Online retail giant Amazon is set to block Australian shoppers from its global website in response to the Government’s GST regulations overhaul.

From July 1, retailers will be forced to apply a 10% tax on goods purchased from international sites and shipped to Australia. Currently, the GST is only levied on overseas items worth more than $1,000.

It seems Amazon is not keen to deal with the onerous work that will come from GST tracking.

“I’m not surprised at this,” says Barry Urquhart from Market Focus.

“It is a consequence of the administrative detail and burden that Amazon will be inflicted upon with the GST.”

Though an undoubted boost for local online business, it is thought the changes will do little when it comes to chipping away at the national debt.

“Just 8% of retail sales in Australia are online. More than 75% of online purchases made by Australians are made within Australia, to Australia. So we’re only talking about a quarter of the online sales attracting this GST. Plus, it will only apply to purchases under $1,000.”

Online retail giant Amazon is set to block Australian shoppers from its global website in response to the Government&rsquo;s GST regulations overhaul.
From July 1, retailers will be forced to apply a 10% tax on goods purchased from international sites and shipped to Australia. Currently,&nbsp;the GST is only levied on overseas items worth more than $1,000.
It seems Amazon is not keen to deal with the onerous work that will come from GST tracking.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not surprised at this,&rdquo; says Barry Urquhart from Market Focus.
&ldquo;It is a consequence of the administrative detail and burden that Amazon will be inflicted upon with the GST.&rdquo;
Though an undoubted boost for local online business, it is thought the changes will do little when it comes to chipping away at the national debt.
&ldquo;Just 8% of retail sales in Australia are online. More than 75% of online purchases made by Australians are made within Australia, to Australia. So we&rsquo;re only talking about a quarter of the online sales attracting this GST. Plus, it will only apply to purchases under $1,000.&rdquo;

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