Billionaire retailer Gerry Harvey wants the federal government to give him the same free kick his overseas competitors are getting from a GST exemption for online sales. Mr Harvey is one of the backers of an advertising campaign, launched by a group of Australian retailers on Tuesday, that aims to convince the government to level the playing field against foreign websites offering tax-free goods. The campaign, backed by Myer, David Jones, Harvey Norman, Target, House, Borders, Angus & Robertson among others, began with full-page advertisements in some of the nation's newspapers. "We agree with our customers that online retailing is a wonderful convenience that is here to stay," the advertisement reads. "We also agree that fair competition is good for our customers and we want to be able to offer them the same Australian tax exemptions that offshore retailers enjoy." At the moment, no GST is imposed on goods that are bought from international websites for less than $1000. Mr Harvey says that exemption gives overseas retailers "a free kick". "Why can't I have the same deal as overseas retailers?" he told ABC Radio. "I employ people in this country, I do pay taxes, I pay rent so can I have the same go?" Mr Harvey said overseas retailers regarded the GST exemption as "manna from heaven". "You've got stores all over the world thinking 'what a beauty that Australia is'," he said. "This is a shocker." Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten maintains that imposing the GST on every item purchased from overseas is too expensive. "The cost of compliance would be greater than the tax raised," he said, adding consumers and retailers wanted a considered response from the government, not a knee-jerk reaction. Mr Shorten said there was no denying Australian retailers were doing it tough in recent times. "But the GFC (global financial crisis), the high dollar, poor sales before Christmas, I don't think justifies flattening a tax willy-nilly where it hasn't existed before." Mr Harvey was unimpressed by the argument, accusing Mr Shorten of being out of touch. "Bill, wake up," he said. Independent senator Nick Xenophon says the campaign doesn't acknowledge that small businesses are those most hurt by internet shopping. "It's extraordinary to hear Myer, David Jones, Harvey Norman and Target all claiming they want a level playing field when ... the extraordinary market power of these very businesses has put enormous pressure on the small business sector," he said in a statement. "It's like watching Goliath pretend he's David." Senator Xenophon said the big retailers with their buying power and considerable resources had significant advantage over smaller retailers. "I would argue if anyone was going to get an exemption from GST on goods under $1000 ... it should only be the small business sector." Consumer advocacy group Choice described the retailers' campaign as an "alarmist red herring" driven by self interest. "The big chains should recognise that it's their high prices, limited range and poor customer service that increasingly encourages people to use the internet," spokesman Christopher Zinn said in a statement. "Consumers are simply chasing the best deal and the best service and often these days that is found online." Choice used the example of a digital camera (Canon IXUS 1000 HS) available online from Myer for $557. The same camera could be purchased though an Australian online retailer for $433.50. Purchasing the camera from Hong Kong through a company with Australia-based sales staff would cost $346. "Major stores are not being forced by anyone to charge these high prices," Mr Zinn said. "This debate is about quality of service, competitive pricing and the inability of some retailers to understand the future of internet shopping."
Mr Harvey is one of the backers of an advertising campaign, launched by a group of Australian retailers on Tuesday, that aims to convince the government to level the playing field against foreign websites offering tax-free goods.
The campaign, backed by Myer, David Jones, Harvey Norman, Target, House, Borders, Angus & Robertson among others, began with full-page advertisements in some of the nation's newspapers.
"We agree with our customers that online retailing is a wonderful convenience that is here to stay," the advertisement reads.
"We also agree that fair competition is good for our customers and we want to be able to offer them the same Australian tax exemptions that offshore retailers enjoy."
At the moment, no GST is imposed on goods that are bought from international websites for less than $1000.
Mr Harvey says that exemption gives overseas retailers "a free kick".
"Why can't I have the same deal as overseas retailers?" he told ABC Radio.
"I employ people in this country, I do pay taxes, I pay rent so can I have the same go?"
Mr Harvey said overseas retailers regarded the GST exemption as "manna from heaven".
"You've got stores all over the world thinking 'what a beauty that Australia is'," he said.
"This is a shocker."
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten maintains that imposing the GST on every item purchased from overseas is too expensive.
"The cost of compliance would be greater than the tax raised," he said, adding consumers and retailers wanted a considered response from the government, not a knee-jerk reaction.
Mr Shorten said there was no denying Australian retailers were doing it tough in recent times.
"But the GFC (global financial crisis), the high dollar, poor sales before Christmas, I don't think justifies flattening a tax willy-nilly where it hasn't existed before."
Mr Harvey was unimpressed by the argument, accusing Mr Shorten of being out of touch.
"Bill, wake up," he said.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon says the campaign doesn't acknowledge that small businesses are those most hurt by internet shopping.
"It's extraordinary to hear Myer, David Jones, Harvey Norman and Target all claiming they want a level playing field when ... the extraordinary market power of these very businesses has put enormous pressure on the small business sector," he said in a statement.
"It's like watching Goliath pretend he's David."
Senator Xenophon said the big retailers with their buying power and considerable resources had significant advantage over smaller retailers.
"I would argue if anyone was going to get an exemption from GST on goods under $1000 ... it should only be the small business sector."
Consumer advocacy group Choice described the retailers' campaign as an "alarmist red herring" driven by self interest.
"The big chains should recognise that it's their high prices, limited range and poor customer service that increasingly encourages people to use the internet," spokesman Christopher Zinn said in a statement.
"Consumers are simply chasing the best deal and the best service and often these days that is found online."
Choice used the example of a digital camera (Canon IXUS 1000 HS) available online from Myer for $557.
The same camera could be purchased though an Australian online retailer for $433.50.
Purchasing the camera from Hong Kong through a company with Australia-based sales staff would cost $346.
"Major stores are not being forced by anyone to charge these high prices," Mr Zinn said.
First time I have heard small business (non internet) mentioned publicly in this debate, let alone supported.
even if there was gst added to online sales over $1000 poor mister harvey still not be able to stop online sales and now with his whining on tv and newspapers all he has done is made anybody that was not aware of the savings of online sales, aware now.
Thats the awesome part Steve yeah. Who did he expect to us to feel sorry for.... His BILLIONAIRE ass? Or was it Coles/Myer, David Jones, Target or any of the other multi million dollar multi national companies that joined his fight?
If it went ahead it would crush many small and niche business' (and niche hobyists/ enthusiasts/ small time importers like us!). I wish they could go ahead with allowing small business to qualify for the tax exemption where deemed appropriate, whilst still telling harvey and his billionaire bouncers to cram it with walnuts.
SJ
FFS SJ I thought you were getting into me then. (with the heading)
On a more friendly note, have you heard of a local band called "Monkey Tin"
I was gonna put Mr Norman. Probably should've in hindsight.
Definately heard the name Monkey tin, havent seen a show though.
Exactly.
Say an overseas RETAIL price on an item is 200 (being very fair as the wholesale price they actually pay would be much less).
Then because an australian retailer has bought in bulk (well over $1000) they cop GST. Thats 220.
Shipping in bulk gets them huge disounts too, but say it costs 50 bucks to ship (this can vary of course, but this is an average amount I have spent on many items that cost around 200). Now we are at 270.
Some of the price differences I have seen, even before the dollar hike, have been 300 - 1000% more than OS prices. The numbers just dont add up.
I do, and have owned small business' before but have always run on the "low profit/ high stock turnover" angle. So it shits me when I hear multi billionaire presidents of multinational companies touting about looking after "our" country and giving them a "fair go". Consumers have woken up through the internet and realised that for so many years a lot of these retailers (espcially certain clothes/ elctrical/ whitegoods have been making up to 800 or 1000% profit (8 - 10 times what it cost them) off the fact that we are so isolated from the rest of the world.
Mr Harvey... as soon as you adjust your profit margins to the rest of the world, instead of asking for their liberties of import for MORE profit, we will all happily give you a "fair go".
That'll teach him for selling all those computers and modems allowing everyone to go online and shop.
poor harvey must be hard for you to take then choice bags you
2 POINTS..........
1. Harvey Norman innovated retail* against the '60's model and consequently squashed many small businesses in the process. he is now sooking about the same type of thing happening to him
*note that each individual department within a harvey Norman store is a seperate franchise
2. Also take into account that these type of stores had no hesitation in abondoning Aussie manufacturers when they were able to source cheap offshore product
I hear ya crackers!
Thats why I hate the "give us a fair go" kinda true blue aussie angle these worms push.
Like they support industry. Show me something that doesnt have a made in china sticker with an aussie price tag at least twice as high.
Not like their workforce is looked after well either.... aussie aussie aussie Stop bleeding the flag. Leach.
I boycotted Hardly Normal a while back because all their crap was over priced. This is just another reason I will boycot them in future.
Makes me pretty angry when greedy fuckers like this use the "jobs" card to make their point. Bullshit. What internet competition will affect is profit margins, which mostly affect shareholders and greedy fuckers like Harvey. Retail businesses make their sales one way and that's through having staff, less staff = less sales not the other way round.
in todays online news
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/online-shoppers-should-pay-more-for-the-good-of-australia-says-gerry-harvey/story-e6frea6u-1225982864211
Online shoppers should pay more for the good of Australia, says Gerry Harvey
RETAIL king Gerry Harvey says online shoppers buying bargains from overseas should accept paying more for the good of the country.
The chain store supremo was responding to a public backlash over retailers campaigning to have GST and import duties imposed on purchases from foreign sites.
He said such shoppers would pay a far higher price in the long run because of lost jobs and a weaker Australian economy.
Mr Harvey said he was not surprised by the reaction to the campaign, which argues retailers need a level playing field against foreigners who escape the taxes on goods worth less than $1000.
"Yes, you might have to pay more, but it's the right thing to do. You'll pay a lot more if we lose jobs and retailers close down," he said.
Retail mogul Solomon Lew agreed, saying those most at risk from online shopping are ordinary workers.
Mr Lew said the focus on local versus online prices was beside the point. "Even if they charge the GST and duty, goods may come in cheaper from overseas, but there's a moral principle at stake here, and at the end of the day it will cost jobs," he told The Australian.
Myer chief Bernie Brookes also said that consumers upset at the suggestion they be charged up to hundreds of dollars more for goods sourced from foreign sites were being "short-sighted".
"It may seem great to buy at that price but there are long-term ramifications," he said.
Mr Brookes has said sales lost as a result of unfair tax breaks for foreign competitors could result in 30,000 jobs being cut in the retail sector.
Mr Brookes denied major retailers who were lobbying the Federal Government for tax changes were ripping off customers.
Businesses had to pay GST and import duties, typically 10 per cent for clothes and 5 per cent for electronics.
Mr Brookes said foreign businesses could also negotiate better bulk buys.
John Anderson, global chief executive of Levi Strauss, said his company was able to sell jeans more cheaply in the US than in Australia because operating costs such as rent and staff wages were cheaper there. "The cost to do business in Australia is higher, and the lack of scale is a part of that - Australia is a very small market compared to the US."
On the Levis.com website, US-based customers can purchase men's jeans for $US58 ($57.90), about half the regular retail price in Australia, although some styles yesterday were discounted to $69 a pair in Australian Levi's stores, attracting post-Christmas sales shoppers such as Jess Smith.
Simon Fonteyn, managing director of property analysis group leaseinfo.com.au, said fashion retailers in Australia typically paid 50 to 100 per cent more in rent than their US counterparts.
Shopping centre giant Westfield, which has declared its support for the campaign but was not mentioned in this week's newspaper ads, refused to comment yesterday on the role its rental charges played in Australia's higher retail prices. Mr Lew said Westfield had not been named in the ads because the participants wanted to focus on the retail market.
Coalition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey yesterday ruled out opposition support for scrapping the GST exemption, saying it only affected about 3 per cent of retail spending.
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten has said that collecting GST and import duty on foreign internet purchases would cost more than the revenue it would generate - a figure the retail coalition has estimated at $2.5 billion a year. with The Australian
The government is more to blame for declining retail sales, if they want a more even playing field why doesn't the govermnet scrap it's import duties that these businesses are shafted with.
While this article is over 3 years old it highlights the greed of a man named Gerry Harvey. If most normal families struggle on wages how are foreign workers going to survive on half the wage Harvey ya fuckwit.
BILLIONAIRE retailer Gerry Harvey says Australia needs a two-tier wage system to allow employers to pay foreign guest workers less than locals.
The Harvey Norman boss said Australia's prosperity was creating a labour shortage and endangering the nation's competitiveness.
He said a growing number of Australian manufacturers were moving overseas, where cheap labour was plentiful.
He called on the Federal Government to allow foreign workers on fixed visas to form a second tier to the labour market.
"Australia doesn't have cheap labour. Many overseas workers would be prepared to move here for a much better life and half the money Australians earn," he said.
"When you get unemployment down to four per cent, to three per cent, to two per cent, business can't get the labour. "I've got horse studs and it's difficult to get staff.
Mr Harvey said both major parties needed to open the gates to migrants.
"The US can draw on a lot of cheap labour from Mexico and South America," he said.
"People from those countries move to the US looking for a better life. "European countries can draw on cheap labour from eastern Europe.
"The danger of being too prosperous is that it can come back to bite you - you can become too lazy and other nations work harder and overtake you."
"What I'm saying is not politically correct. "You won't get politicians saying what I'm saying, but privately they know this sort of thing is a reality in the future."
hows this for a back http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/8607467/harvey-stung-by-gst-campaign-backlash/
HARVEY Norman boss Gerry Harvey has all but capitulated in the retail battle against online shoppers.
Mr Harvey has announced he is taking a lower profile in the retailers' campaign for GST to be applied to overseas online purchases.
He told the Sydney Morning Herald that he felt his involvement was "suicidal" and that the full page advertisements during the Boxing Day sales was "bad timing", claiming the message had been poorly communicated.
"It becomes me, Gerry Harvey and Solomon Lew - billionaires, greedy, ugly, old, out-of-date c---s, and the people writing this seem to think we have been ripping them off for years and that we deserve this, he told the Herald.
Mr Harvey's retreat comes as the head of the retail sector union dismissed claims that online retailing poses a threat to Australian jobs - a central claim of the big retailers' campaign.
And Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten has backed the little man in the retail debate that has divided the nation.
Mr Shorten criticised big retailers for implying customers capitalising on bargains from foreign websites were not acting in the national interest.
He said large businesses making billions of dollars had no right to question the motives of households making do on much less money.
"They shouldn't treat the internet like a witch-burning exercise," Mr Shorten said.
"How can companies complain that households on less than $100,000 a year have an unfair advantage over billion-dollar brands?"
Major retailers face boycott calls from consumers angry over their campaign to add GST and import duties to all purchases from foreign websites. Currently, foreign operators escape the taxes when consumers buy goods worth less than $1000.
A retail coalition including Myer, David Jones, Harvey Norman and Borders has vowed to continue its bid for a fairer playing field despite the backlash.
Retail bosses say tens of thousands of local jobs are at risk unless the Federal Government bows to their demands to help all Australian stores and online retailers better compete against overseas operators.
Mr Harvey ignited the argument in yesterday's Herald Sun , saying shoppers buying from overseas websites should accept the need to pay the taxes in the national interest.
Myer chief Bernie Brookes has called consumers upset about the campaign "short-sighted", while retail mogul Solomon Lew says it is a moral issue.
The retail heavyweights say the GST and duties they are forced to collect add 15 per cent to the price of electronics, and 20 per cent to clothes.
But Mr Shorten said: "Where were all these companies when Australian manufacturing started to shrink? They were heading overseas with their buyers to get cheaper goods into Australia."
Mr Harvey said he was considering stepping back from commenting on the debate as Facebook calls to boycott his stores emerged and the issue dominated Twitter chatter.
"The vitriol in it is amazing," Mr Harvey said. "I hope it's a minority."
Mr Harvey stressed that he did not oppose the right to shop on the internet, and was next month planning to launch an online store.
All he was interested in was a fair system.
