View source for Government considering new parcel tax

Australians buying clothes, books or health products from overseas could be slapped with  [http://bekhoemevui.vn/bi-quyet-giup-be-an-ngon-mieng-moi-ngay/ giup tre an ngon mieng] a new tax on top of the GST.<br><br>The proposal to impose a new flat-rate levy on all imported parcels worth less than $1000 comes at a tricky pre-budget time for the government, as it seeks to sell its company tax cuts while tightening welfare arrangements.<br><br>"We're already extremely highly taxed," crossbench senator David Leyonhjelm told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.<br><br>"I despair at the idea that we'll never end up with any of our own money left in our own pockets."<br><br>The proposal, floated in a Department of Home Affairs discussion paper, seeks to balance the cost of security screening the booming number of small parcels.<br><br>The paper claims the problem is "importers of high-value consignments pay the costs of border activities for both low-value consignments and their own".<br><br>Close to 40 million goods valued under $1000 were imported into Australia in 2016-17.<br><br>That was a 22 per cent increase from the previous year, and the [http://Www.Reddit.com/r/howto/search?q=government%20expects government expects] this to blow out by a further 31 per cent over the next four years.<br><br>In contrast, goods worth more than $1000 - that do attract a levy - only numbered 3.7 million in 2016-17.<br><br>To share the cost, the department is asking for stakeholder input on the proposed levy, which has been touted in government reviews since 2014.<br><br>It is expected freight and express courier services would bear the bulk of the burden.<br><br>But business insiders are [http://Www.Lifebeyondtourism.org/?header_search=concerned concerned] the costs will be passed onto consumers.<br><br>The flat fee for imported goods is yet to be determined, the discussion paper says.<br><br>"We expect the cost of the levy per parcel to be in the dollars not the cents," Freight and Trade Alliance director Paul Zalai told Fairfax Media.