The Destination Principle: Past Developments and Future Challenges
GST IN AUSTRALIA: LOOKING FORWARD FROM THE FIRST DECADE, C. Peacock, ed., Thomson Reuters, pp. 313-341, 2011
Presented at GST in Australia: Looking Forward from the First Decade, RMIT, Melbourne, 17-18 November 2010
29 Pages Posted: 28 Apr 2012
Date Written: April 27, 2012
Abstract
This paper, presented at a conference in 2010, examines the cross-border rules in the Australian GST. Part 1 (2000 to 2009) covers the initial design of Australia’s destination principle rules, early case law questioning whether GST was payable by foreign tour operators selling holidays in Australia, legislative changes made in response to that case law, and the review of the cross-border rules undertaken by the Australian Board of Taxation in response to the work of the OECD on the International VAT/GST Guidelines. Part 2 (2010) comments on the Board of Taxation’s recommendations and discusses Travelex, a case in which the High Court of Australia concluded that foreign currency services consumed in Australia were not taxable because they were ‘exported services’. Part 3 (2011 and beyond), discusses how the Board of Taxation recommendations might be implemented, considers how the Government should respond to the Travelex decision, and calls for a more active interest in the work of the OECD.
Keywords: VAT, GST, Cross-border VAT/GST, Australian GST, International VAT/GST
JEL Classification: K10, K30, K33, K34
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation