Amazon blocks Australia from its US site due to new GST rules
First Netflix, now Amazon. Australians can't catch a digital break.
Amazon launched last December in Australia, but it hasn't dominated the market like some predicted. Thankfully Aussies unimpressed by the local service have been able to shop on the US site.
However, that privilege is being yanked away on July 1.
That's the date new GST laws come into effect Down Under, which stipulates that Australia's national 10 percent tax be applied to all online purchases. Previously, the tax was only applied to purchases over AU$1,000.
"While we regret any inconvenience this may cause customers, we have had to assess the workability of the legislation as a global business with multiple international sites," an Amazon spokeswoman told SMH.
The tax is designed to level the playing field for local retailers like JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman, who say international online sellers get a competitive advantage by not having to include GST in their prices.
This is a little bit of deja vu for Australians, after a similar issue with Netflix . The streaming behemoth made its debut Down Under in 2015, but its local offerings differed to the US version, which many Australians had been accessing via VPNs . In the beginning of 2016, Netflix started locking down its regional content, making it almost impossible to access other nations' versions of Netflix.
Amazon has been reached for further comment.