Move to make online buyers pay GST

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Retailers in New Zealand will be watching closely the Australian campaign to have GST collected on privately imported goods.

Most goods bought online for less than $400 here escape GST and duty and retailers are worried about imports being used for commercial purposes.

As in Australia, the Retail Association is worried about the threat of online sales to the sector which has sales of about $65 billion a year and employs about 325,000 people.

Association chief executive John Albertson has said his members wanted GST on all goods bought privately overseas, excluding gifts. This would help New Zealand businesses and give the Government tax revenue worth as much as $500 million.

Especially galling for retailers was when customers used them to research products in their shops then bought them through overseas websites.

"You'll get people putting staff to tremendous trouble trying on sports shoes, say 'thanks very much' and go off and buy them online," Albertson has said.

It is estimated that between $1.2 billion-$3 billion is spent online on goods by New Zealanders and, according to researchers The Nielsen Company, 17 per cent of this is spent overseas. Most overseas shopping is done in Australia and the United States.

Easy-to-ship goods, such as DVDs, CDs, computer software and books, are the most popular items.