Online shopping is finally showing signs of living up to its hype, and as Australia’s consumer landscape is shifting Australian retailers are exploring new ways to compete both here and abroad. Meanwhile, Australia’s “taxpayers” are getting iPods shipped straight from China and logging onto eBay to buy a US iTunes card so they can download the latest music and back up to a cloud server as they catch the morning train. But as sure as death and taxes, electronics break down, warranties are invoked and local repairs are arranged by the international manufacturers.
This paper looks at GST in a virtual world:
- How does our “consumption” tax actually operate?
- How do we define our borders?
- How do we minimise compliance burdens and still protect our tax base?
- Where is it all heading?