Originally Posted by
JaBek1
Unfortunately, the most likely result of a country's government levying a tax on goods being imported into the country is to have the sellers affected to re-evaluate their willingness to export to that country. If compliance with that countries tax law causes added work or expense to them, they may decide that the income derived from such sales doesn't warrant exporting to that country.
If the GST is actually a tax levied by the Australian Government on its own citizens, but requiring the merchants of other countries to act as their agents in collecting it for them, the result may be much the same. Any additional red tape or administrative paperwork required of the merchant could result in them simply excluding that country from their operations. Thus, without a compelling reason not to do so, some sellers may quit selling to buyers in Australia. This may or may not be something that the Australian people or their government wants. While not being an issue when related to items readily available on the local Australian market, items that are not may become harder to find there and more expensive.
Of course, Australia has the right to tax their people as they see fit, I suppose. That would be a political issue between it and its citizens.