GST laws (and other tax laws) as a whole are complicated. But payments by importers and wholesalers are pretty simple.
From the ATO website:
[i]Sam’s Sporting Goods (SSG) is a sporting goods wholesaler and is registered for GST. SSG imports golf clubs on 6 January.
The customs value of the golf clubs is $20,000, the customs duty payable for the goods is $1,000 and the transport and insurance costs are $2,000.
Therefore, the value of the importation is $23,000.
When SSG imports the golf clubs, it pays Customs GST of 10% of the value of the importation or $2,300 (10% x 23,000).
On 27 January, SSG sells the golf clubs to a retailer for $35,000 plus $3,500 GST. The GST-inclusive price of the golf clubs is now $38,500.
SSG offsets the $2,300 GST it paid when the golf clubs were imported against the $3,500 GST payable on the sale to the retailer. SSG pays $1,200 (that is, $3,500 - $2,300) to us.
The retailer sells the goods to the public on 30 January. The retailer offsets the $3,500 included in the price he paid for the goods against the GST he has to pay to us when he sells the goods.
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To have cake and not eat it is stupid. cake is made specifically for eating. To have cake and not eat it is wasting good cake. people that waste should bear in mind there are starving bike messengers in the world that could use that cake.
(if anyone has cake going spare, please bring it to post office square )
