Date: July 23, 2015
The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed today’s in-principle agreement from heads of government to close the GST loophole which currently gives an unfair advantage to overseas businesses.
NRA Chief Executive Officer Trevor Evans said while there was still some work to be done to finalise the details, retailers could now see the light at the end of the tunnel after a long campaign.
And he said it was ironic that the Federal Government had received a mandate to move on the issue on the same day as the ABC announced it was closing its retail operations, partly due to pressure from on-line overseas sales.
“The NRA has campaigned long and hard on this issue over many years, and we are very pleased to see an agreement to solve the problem,” Mr Evans said.
“The so-called Low Value Threshold has been nothing more than an excuse for overseas retailers to target the Australian market without needing to contribute to tax revenue in this country.
“It has been a factor in the closure of a lot of retail businesses, including – just today – the national network of ABC Shops.
“Independent research has shown that it has cost tens of thousands of local jobs, and stripped hundreds of millions out of revenue for Federal, State and Territory Governments.
“So we very much welcome this announcement today, and the retail sector stands ready to work with the government to assist with implementing this long-overdue measure.
The NRA is Australia’s largest and most diverse retail industry organisation, and has been representing the interests of the retail, fast food and broader service sector for almost 100 years.
Media contact: the NRA media unit – 07 3240 0152.