Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Seems pretty reasonable if it gives foreign sellers an unfair advantage. The EU introduced similar legislation a couple of years ago.
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What's reasonable about expecting someone from another country to be an unpaid tax collector for you? What's reasonable about expecting an online seller to stay up to date and support the tax laws all over the world? Given that New Zealand isn't a particularly big market, the likely outcome is that many online stores will refuse to sell to people from New Zealand. Only the bigger companies that can afford the overhead of all the various laws will continue to do business, and they will likely raise prices to cover their cost.
Here in the US, online sellers are only required to collect taxes if they have a physical presence in the state where the buyer lives. The unfair argument is simply a rationalization for governments to grab more money. If it's a fair tax, then surely the New Zealand people will be over joyed to send a check to the New Zealand government for all the taxes they owe for online purchases.