Ararat retailers have welcomed the impending GST crackdown on overseas purchases, but do not know if it will bring trade back to town.
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From July 1, clothing, electronics and furniture bought directly from overseas worth less than $1000 from companies such as Amazon and eBay will be hit with Australia’s 10 per cent GST.
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison introduced the tax to "level the playing field" for domestic retail businesses - who have paid GST since 2000 - after widespread lobbying from high-profile bricks and mortar retailers such as Harvey Norman.
Ararat retailers have said the move might not make things truly even between retail and online deliveries, but it was a start.
Business owners said they could understand why some customers would only look for the lowest possible price, but urged shoppers to support the region’s stores and, in turn, population growth and employment.
Jerram Auto Parts and Electronic Centre co-owner Wayne Jerram said the biggest discrepancies were in overheads and freight.
“I pay GST on everything. There are very few items I could sell that would be exempt from GST,” he said.
“I also pay rates, insurance and taxes in Australia. There are some nations with hourly wages of 70 cents per hour, while I pay more than $20 per hour.
Mr Jerram said he did not know how much business he had lost to online trading as services such as eBay and Amazon grew more popular in recent years.
“I get a lot of people coming in to buy Australian power cables for products they have bought online from overseas importers,” he said.
“It used to be just the younger crowd, but now you have the grey nomads coming in and checking all the prices on their smartphones.”
Mr Jerram said he was also charged far more to post his products to customers in Warracknabeal and Beulah than Chinese importers.
Lyal Eales Stores Ararat manager Rob Stebbing said he was not sure if a 10 per cent change in prices in July would make much of a financial difference to shoppers.
“I think people should think about the long-term impacts of doing all their shopping online,” he said.
Amazon launched its ‘Prime’ service in Australia in Tuesday, granting unlimited priority postage for a flat fee.
Ballarat and Warrnambool can access the service, but not Ararat and Stawell.