“Yesterday’s announcement by Prime Minister Howard that Australia has agreed to a joint approach on e-commerce with the United States is not so much a negotiated bilateral agreement but simply the US imposing its preferred position on Australia, said Senator Kate Lundy, Shadow Minister assisting on Information Technology.
“Many of the issues Mr Howard claims have been ‘agreed’ to are in reality specific outcomes of the OECD Ministerial Forum on Electronic Commerce, held in Ottawa in early October.
“The OECD Ministerial Forum raised a number of bureaucratic riddles with respect to consumption taxes, like the Government’s proposed GST. However Mr Howard neglected to include any reference to the impact of a GST on e-commerce. Given the current public debate surrounding the GST, this is a glaring omission.
It appears that Mr Howard is avoiding the hard questions on e-commerce, such as:
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If the GST makes some goods more expensive, won’t Australians simply avoid paying tax through e-commerce purchases?
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How will Australian small businesses, especially small retailers, benefit from this agreement given that they will be competing against giant online US multinationals?
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What impact will this agreement have on Australian industry and suppliers if they operate under a GST, but online transactions are not subject to the same taxation system?
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What is the view of the Australian Tax Office with respect to e-commerce?
Senate Adjournment – E-commerce and the GST – Implementation
Gore/Clinton speech announcing the agreement
Contact: Simon Tatz on 0418 488295
