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View Full Version : Is this another Adobe rip-off ???



Cage
08-11-2016, 2:14pm
Arrived in my inbox today.


Thank you for being a valued Adobe customer. We wanted to share an important change to the tax you currently pay on your Adobe products and services.
Starting December 1, 2016, Adobe will begin to charge 10% GST on all goods and services to our customers in Australia. Learn more. Your next bill, on or after this date, will reflect the new tax rate. Note that this change does not affect the base price of your Adobe products.

Now I could be wrong here but my understanding is that the legislation requiring that GST be payable on all goods and services provided by overseas organisations does not come into effect until July 1, 2017.

It is also debatable whether the Australian government actually has the power to not only force overseas sellers to comply with this new legislation but to collect the proceeds from them.

So Adobe are going to charge me 10% GST on my CS6 Cloud subscription six months before they are obliged to.

Adobe, the Price Gougers Extraordinaire, will be hearing from me.

Oh, and I read somewhere that the Treasurer is only doing this to give local sellers an even playing field. Neglected to mention that the Government expects to cop $300 Billion pa from the exercise. Perhaps if most of the local sellers entered the real world with their pricing instead of asking MSRP, they may be more competitive.

agb
08-11-2016, 3:33pm
Adobe should always have been quoting GST on the products I think, sold by Adobe in Australia even if it is charged against and paid to their tax dodging office in Ireland. The EU should have pinned them when they did Apple.
If you are concerned why don't you contact the tax office and ask them about it, ie that you think Adobe are going to rip you off, and if they will be expecting Adobe to pay them the 10% as from 1 December. I think if Adobe put the 10% on your bill they will be bound to pass it on to the tax office. Of course now they will be able to claim the deduction of the 10% GST that they have paid on their inputs. Its always us the consumers who pay.
Perhaps I should have taken up the offer by on1 for their new raw processing software.

ameerat42
08-11-2016, 8:55pm
Whatter loader BALL-SHORTS!

When yer do write to em, givvem a serve from me:nod:

Cage
10-11-2016, 5:13pm
I phoned Adobe today and had a nice chat to a lad in India who had absolutely no idea of what was irking me. His constant come-back line was that all Adobe's Australian customers got the email.

My next call will be to the ATO. :action:

ameerat42
10-11-2016, 6:59pm
Hmm! Of course, they're right...
Now, if you contact the ATO, they will probably give you an equally tractionless reply,
possibly predicated along the lines that they cannot discuss non-you tax affairs.

Nevertheless, try it, and if you do get nowhere, cobble the responses from both entities
into a lament to an ombudsperson...

Essentially it will be one of trying to ascertain if the the GST surcharge is being legally
levied (and remitted).

Ult., don't buy Adobe products.:cool:

Hawthy
10-11-2016, 7:23pm
Adobe are likely voluntarily complying with Australian legislation ahead of the mandatory date of 1 July 2017. I say "voluntarily" because, seriously, how would the government enforce collection of GST on a digital product supplied by a company with its headquarters in Ireland?
I have received an email telling me that GST will be charged from 1 December on my PS CC 2015 subscription. It is only $1.20 per month and I spill more than that most days, so I am not as ropeable as Kev. I am sure that a company the size of Adobe will pass on any GST that they collect. It is all about reputation risk.
Just smile and think of that deficit being wound back.:nod:

ameerat42
10-11-2016, 8:11pm
Adobe ... back.:nod:
:D

Cage
10-11-2016, 8:31pm
Adobe are likely voluntarily complying with Australian legislation ahead of the mandatory date of 1 July 2017. I say "voluntarily" because, seriously, how would the government enforce collection of GST on a digital product supplied by a company with its headquarters in Ireland?
I have received an email telling me that GST will be charged from 1 December on my PS CC 2015 subscription. It is only $1.20 per month and I spill more than that most days, so I am not as ropeable as Kev. I am sure that a company the size of Adobe will pass on any GST that they collect. It is all about reputation risk.
Just smile and think of that deficit being wound back.:nod:

Andrew, it's not the $1.00 per month, it's the principal.

I have trouble understanding how a company as large as Adobe could get this wrong. Although this is the same company that was asked to explain it's price gouging tactics not so long ago.

Hawthy
10-11-2016, 10:45pm
My take on it is that from July they will be obliged to comply. They wish to be seen as being good corporate citizens by complying earlier and you are an unfortunate casualty. It is not a conspiracy to siphon dollars from the country.

Cage
11-11-2016, 11:21am
Andrew I think you are missing my point. I'll give Adobe the benefit of the doubt and concur that they may just be trying to improve their corporate image, and get some brownie points from the ATO.

However they are stepping outside the legislated (?) guidelines. It would be like all states introducing a maximum speed limit of 80 klm/hr, effective from July 1, 2017, and then fining everyone who exceeded that limit from December 1, 2016 onward.

Hamster
11-11-2016, 11:59am
Adobe are likely voluntarily complying with Australian legislation ahead of the mandatory date of 1 July 2017. I say "voluntarily" because, seriously, how would the government enforce collection of GST on a digital product supplied by a company with its headquarters in Ireland?
I have received an email telling me that GST will be charged from 1 December on my PS CC 2015 subscription. It is only $1.20 per month and I spill more than that most days, so I am not as ropeable as Kev. I am sure that a company the size of Adobe will pass on any GST that they collect. It is all about reputation risk.
Just smile and think of that deficit being wound back.:nod:

Yes, this.

Or switch to Capture One and remove Adobe from your workflow.

MrQ
11-11-2016, 4:39pm
I felt much the same when I got their email the other day. It was even more annoying to see it had been added onto my November bill as well (I'm pretty sure I'm not paying in advance). It would have been nice to get the opportunity to switch to an annual plan before this dodgy addition of GST.

arthurking83
12-11-2016, 4:57pm
Yes, this.

Or switch to Capture One and remove Adobe from your workflow.

Or try Affinity(previously Mac only) now in beta form for Windows.
(it's free to try at the mo, so get it while it's hot).

I'm having a bit of play and it seems to work OK-ish.
(ps. it's also a one off purchase cost, not subscription ;))

ameerat42
12-11-2016, 5:25pm
Downloading the beta version for Win now from:
https://affinity.serif.com/forum/index.php?/topic/28037-affinity-designer-public-beta-rc10-15036-windows/

arthurking83
12-11-2016, 6:00pm
Downloading the beta version for Win now from:
....

:th3:

I just posted a small review and obviously forgot to add a link :rolleyes:

I reckon you may like it's 'ability' .. but I dunno how it'll go handling Sigma's raw files.

ameerat42
12-11-2016, 6:01pm
A HH_HHHORROOBBle yellow colour:eek:

mpb
12-11-2016, 6:43pm
The way the legislation stands at the moment, as I understand it, is that Adobe (and all companies) should always have been charging the GST and passing it on the the ATO.

It does not matter that they are an overseas company, if the goods or services are supplied and used in Australia, the GST should be applied.

Adobe are not benefiting from charging the GST, in fact it would be costing them to collect it and passing it on.

The real question is why they have not been doing it all along.

Cage
12-11-2016, 7:13pm
The way the legislation stands at the moment, as I understand it, is that Adobe (and all companies) should always have been charging the GST and passing it on the the ATO.

It does not matter that they are an overseas company, if the goods or services are supplied and used in Australia, the GST should be applied.

Adobe are not benefiting from charging the GST, in fact it would be costing them to collect it and passing it on.

The real question is why they have not been doing it all along.

I beg to differ Mark.

There was a legislated tax free threshold of $1000.00. That is now being withdrawn, from July 1, 2017.

From the ATO website:


GST on low value imported goods

The government has announced that from 1 July 2017, if you are a non-resident supplier who sells low value goods to any consumer based in Australia and you meet the registration turnover threshold of A$75,000 you will need to:

register for the Australian GST
report and pay GST to us.

This includes all taxable goods that have a value equal to or less than A$1,000.

Law for this measure is yet to be enacted.

This also applies to services and digital products.


GST on services and digital products

From 1 July 2017, goods and services tax (GST) will apply to cross-border supplies of digital products and other services imported by Australian consumers.

This includes digital products such as streaming or downloading of movies, music, apps, games and e-books as well as services such as architectural or legal services.

If you meet the registration turnover threshold of A$75,000 and make these supplies, you will be required to register for GST.]

Note the last line in the first quote: "Law for this measure is yet to be enacted".

Should be fun for the ATO policing this...
and you meet the registration turnover threshold of A$75,000 you will need to:

arthurking83
12-11-2016, 7:38pm
I think if you purchase something from an overseas Co and it cost less than $1K there's no GST liable.

The issue is that you aren't actually purchasing a service from here in Aus, as the Adobe servers, Company .. service are all OS based.

If you buy a battery for your camera from O/S do you pay the GST?
When you buy a camera (eg. item worth over $1K) .. you yourself are then liable to pay the GST, not the company you purchased from.

The change in GST could be either:

purchase price related:
related to the onus now being on the vendor to pay the GST component(unlikely)
The service, while not provided from Aus proper, is a service provided to a client in Aus.
Something else to close off some loophole.

My feeling is that it's related to the service not being provided from here in Aus by an O/S company.
That is, irrespective that you're using it here, it's origin is not in Aus and that the price is below $1K in any given year.

So now they're making it a requirement that O/S companies have to register for sales taxes if they supply goods to us in Aus.

There was a OECD forum a while back where all countries involved agreed to adhere to each others tax rules.

I'm pretty sure that GST type taxes in the USA are fully state based(not nationwide), so my guess is that Adobe listed the service in a state that doesn't apply and GST type taxes.
But from memory if that service was supplied to a consumer in a state that did have GST type taxes, then those taxes were payable.
So if they operated the service from <insert state name here> that didn't apply GST taxes to services, then no GST type taxes were liable.

Now tho, if that country was part of the agreement reached re GST taxes, then Adobe had to register for Aus GST to sell stuff here, as well as Japan, and the UK .. etc.

Question is, how does it now affect any or all overseas purchases from the likes of HK/China/etc?
And what happens to those companies that don't or aren't registered for Aus GST purposes.

- - - Updated - - -


....

Should be fun for the ATO policing this...

I think, initially it will be flouted and ignored by many companies.

But longer term, I think it will be enforced if the company was in the group of 100 or so countries agreeing to the system.

So as things all come out in the wash, an eg. could look like this in 5 or 10 years time: company A in Slovenia disregarding our GST compliance requirements for the past may get a knock on the virtual door by the tax dept in Slovenia due to a request from the ATO having found out that they sold $75,001 worth of services to Aus.
Unless customer pay by cash to an O/S co. .. I doubt that you can hide $75K per year of Aus funds travelling via wire to your shores! :)

Cage
12-11-2016, 8:12pm
Arthur, as I said previously, it's not paying the additional $1.00 per month on my CS6 subscription that I object to, it's the principle, and violation of the yet to be legislated changes to how GST is levied.

Adobe's offshore divisions have no legal obligation to charge GST until July 1, 2017. And I can assure you that my CS6 download came from Adobe.com, and not from Adobe.com.au.

ameerat42
12-11-2016, 8:37pm
Givvem some fiery feedback:nod: (PM me for some SQUARE words:devil1:)

arthurking83
13-11-2016, 9:37am
.....

Adobe's offshore divisions have no legal obligation to charge GST until July 1, 2017. And I can assure you that my CS6 download came from Adobe.com, and not from Adobe.com.au.

It depends!
Our tax system is different to other countries. We report tax from Jul-Jun, whereas other countries do full year(s)(Jan-Dec) others do Apr-Mar .. etc.

I'm assuming that (say)in the USA the tax year may be Jan-Dec or something like that, so Adobe are pre prepping for their USA tax needs, by registering for Aus GST effective Jan 1 2017 .. or something like that :confused013

Once they're registered for GST(here), they have to charge/collect/pay back ... etc, etc.

I dunno, I'm worse at taxes and accounting that I am at giving helpful advice! :p ... so I'm just guessing.
But I do know, once you're registered you're in the system and it bites hard if you don't do the GST stuff properly.

So while the legislation says that they don't have to do it .. yet, they can do it(charge GST) as they obviously have greater than $75K turnover.

- - - Updated - - -

I was too curious, so had to search:

IRS Tax year info (https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tax-years)

Jan 01 - Dec 31.

So it makes sense.
(assumption again)All their doing is streamlining their accounting work by starting 'fresh' for their home accounts needs.

So lets say if Japan has an accounting period from April - March and also entered into this consumption tax agreement(highly likely!), then I assume that if Japan legislated for their GST reporting to begin on Apr 01 2017, Adobe would most likely still begin charging on Dec-Jan coming. But if Japan legislated to begin complusory GST reporting in Apr '18, then Adobe will probably start charging in Japan next Dec(or something).

I reckon if they started to collect GST for all the different country requirements at the time of any legislated requirement, they'd be swamped with various influxes at various stages for all the differing countries making the accounts a bit of a nightmare*cutting in at different periods) .. so it'd be easier just to start fresh for their home needs from their Day1.

ricktas
13-11-2016, 9:47am
Andrew I think you are missing my point. I'll give Adobe the benefit of the doubt and concur that they may just be trying to improve their corporate image, and get some brownie points from the ATO.

However they are stepping outside the legislated (?) guidelines. It would be like all states introducing a maximum speed limit of 80 klm/hr, effective from July 1, 2017, and then fining everyone who exceeded that limit from December 1, 2016 onward.

It depends how the legislation is written. I deal with this stuff daily. If the legislation states it has to start on a date, or that companies must be compliant by that date. That slight difference in wording means a hell of a lot.

I am presently dealing with some new legislation that comes into force on the 1st December 2016, but inside the legislation is a clause that companies must be fully compliant within 5 years of that date. So some will start working on compliance from the 1st December (or earlier, like me) and some will leave it till mid 2021 (or later) to even start looking at it. I have seen it all to often, and helped other companies get compliant, at the last minute, cause they decide to just leave it, then find they are rushing around with no idea, when they realise they need to be compliant by next week.

Perhaps we need a link to this GST legislation to see if it states starts on, or compliant by...

ricktas
13-11-2016, 9:57am
Oh, and I read somewhere that the Treasurer is only doing this to give local sellers an even playing field. Neglected to mention that the Government expects to cop $300 Billion pa from the exercise. Perhaps if most of the local sellers entered the real world with their pricing instead of asking MSRP, they may be more competitive.

Doing some reading it appears the expected revenue is $350 MILLION not Billion Per Annum... and the bill came into effect from the 1st January 2017 and that companies must be fully compliant with the legislation from the 1st July... meaning they can start to, or fully comply earlier than 1st July 2017.

arthurking83
13-11-2016, 10:44am
.....

Oh, and I read somewhere that the Treasurer is only doing this to give local sellers an even playing field. Neglected to mention that the Government expects to cop $300 Billion pa from the exercise. Perhaps if most of the local sellers entered the real world with their pricing instead of asking MSRP, they may be more competitive.


Actually, of all the DUMBA$$ things any treasurer has ever said .. this has to be excluded!


While I agree that import duties can be detrimental to economies, for our own sake, the Govt has to do more to keep 1/. the Aussie dollar, and 2/. taxes at a point where the playing field is level.

With dwindling sales due to O/S prices all retailers are forced to up their prices, making their competitiveness even harder.
Our tax system is one of the worst in the world, compared to the countries we generally tend to buy from!(how many folks here have purchased stuff from Nigeria! ;))

Yeah, some retailers price gouge, but a lot of the price gouging is coming from the importer/wholesaler .. and in some instances, both(ie. collusion).
I've heard of instances where a retailer will force the wholesaler to sell to them for an extremely low price and force them to sell to other smaller retailers at disproportional higher prices!
if the wholesaler doesn't agree, then the forceful retailer doesn't deal with them at all(ie. many thousands of lost sales = many thousands more to the competitors!)


So, if they can't fully control the exchange rate and don't want to set import tariffs, and couldn't be previously bothered to levy sales taxes onto (privately)imported goods ... how the hell do local retailers ever compete?

Seriously, I were were treasurer you'd hate me even more than we all hate Morrison ATM!

1/. I'd have (tried to) set non Aussie GST to 20% .. maybe even more.
2/. do whatever it takes(in terms of legislation) to break the stranglehold that large business have over smaller businesses ... basically make it harder to be an enormous corporation.

- - - Updated - - -


Actually, of all the DUMBA$$ things any treasurer has ever said .. this has to be excluded!


While I agree that import duties can be detrimental to economies, for our own sake, the Govt has to do more to keep 1/. the Aussie dollar, and 2/. taxes at a point where the playing field is level.

With dwindling sales due to O/S prices all retailers are forced to up their prices, making their competitiveness even harder.
Our tax system is one of the worst in the world, compared to the countries we generally tend to buy from!(how many folks here have purchased stuff from Nigeria! ;))

Yeah, some retailers price gouge, but a lot of the price gouging is coming from the importer/wholesaler .. and in some instances, both(ie. collusion).
I've heard of instances where a retailer will force the wholesaler to sell to them for an extremely low price and force them to sell to other smaller retailers at disproportional higher prices!
if the wholesaler doesn't agree, then the forceful retailer doesn't deal with them at all(ie. many thousands of lost sales = many thousands more to the competitors!)


So, if they can't fully control the exchange rate and don't want to set import tariffs, and couldn't be previously bothered to levy sales taxes onto (privately)imported goods ... how the hell do local retailers ever compete?

Seriously, I were were treasurer you'd hate me even more than we all hate Morrison ATM!

1/. I'd have (tried to) set non Aussie GST to 20% .. maybe even more.
2/. do whatever it takes(in terms of legislation) to break the stranglehold that large business have over smaller businesses ... basically make it harder to be an enormous corporation.

and ps. it should be remembered that GST goes to the states, not feds!! .. you want hospitals and all that stuff don'cha!

The reason we all got the GST way back when, was because it was deemed illegal for states to charge duties and sales taxes, so this was the only way they could(via the federal system) so it all goes back to states .. disproportionally!

Cage
13-11-2016, 11:41am
Doing some reading it appears the expected revenue is $350 MILLION not Billion Per Annum... and the bill came into effect from the 1st January 2016 and that companies must be fully compliant with the legislation from the 1st July... meaning they can start to, or fully comply earlier than 1st July 2016.

Ooops, what's $349.965 Billion amongst friends. :confused013 That difference would sure help with our deficit. :nod:

re the dates it comes into effect see here .... https://www.ato.gov.au/General/New-legislation/In-detail/Indirect-taxes/GST/GST-on-low-value-imported-goods/ although the date for public comment is possibly wrong as the tax is mooted to come into effect five months earlier.

and here .... http://www.treasury.gov.au/~/media/Treasury/Consultations%20and%20Reviews/Consultations/2016/Applying%20GST%20to%20low%20value%20goods%20imported%20by%20consumers/Key%20Documents/PDF/Q_and_A_Applying_GST_to_low_value_goods.ashx

- - - Updated - - -


and ps. it should be remembered that GST goes to the states, not feds!! .. you want hospitals and all that stuff don'cha!

Dunno what's going on in Mexico Artie but our premier is busy flogging off our public infrastructure to overseas interests and privatising our hospitals.

arthurking83
13-11-2016, 12:41pm
Same here in Mexico City too!
They just sold off the ports(everything else was sold years before by Kennett, so noting else for Labour to sell now :p) .. and are arguing over what to waste that cash bonus on.

I'm sure they'll discover some idiotic government party or ball to waste a billion and half dollars on .... sooner rather than later!

....


Going from that treasury link, the only real rort I can see is where the ATO require an O/S service provider to register for GST.
That provider may well register and charge us the GST component, but I can see difficulties in the ATO enforcing that 10% charge to actually flow into Aus!

Bottom line, I reckon the ATO just gave those fly by nighters from O/S a legitimate method for them to extort an extra 10% of our hard earned to holiday in Argentina with!

We can only hope that any deals and agreements made with O/S corporate agencies are pretty tight.

Cage
13-11-2016, 1:56pm
Artie, I'm guessing that the only chance the ATO have in enforcing this legislation in Australia is with those overseas corporations that have a presence in Australia, ie an ABN.

I very much doubt that our Government has any powers to force the millions of smaller offshore sellers to collect, account for, and forward on the applicable GST. Their easy out is to seek cover under the $75,000.00 pa turnover threshold, or just ignore it altogether, although some will undoubtedly charge it and pocket the change.

So who are they after. Not much of a guessing game here. The big 'M' and the big 'A' would be right on top of their list, and anyone else that gets caught in the net will be an added bonus.

Brian500au
13-11-2016, 9:43pm
You are kidding aren't you. You pay Adobe less than $180 a year for brilliant software and you are peeved. Are you peeved paying $800 registration for you car, $900 for insurance or $2000 for house rates? Dam if you buy a house you are paying 25K+ to the state government just for the property to change hands.

if Adobe charge $360 per year for their software, it would still be a bargain for what we do with it. GST is GST - blame the government but don't blame Adobe. Adobe are not profiting from the GST.

ameerat42
13-11-2016, 10:07pm
...Are you peeved paying $800 registration for you car, $900 for insurance or $2000 for house rates? Dam if you buy a house you are paying 25K+ to the state government just for the property to change hands...

:nod:Yes!:nod: I'm peeved at all the above. That way I stay (what I consider to be) sane:p

Cage
13-11-2016, 10:25pm
You are kidding aren't you. You pay Adobe less than $180 a year for brilliant software and you are peeved. Are you peeved paying $800 registration for you car, $900 for insurance or $2000 for house rates? Dam if you buy a house you are paying 25K+ to the state government just for the property to change hands.

if Adobe charge $360 per year for their software, it would still be a bargain for what we do with it. GST is GST - blame the government but don't blame Adobe. Adobe are not profiting from the GST.

No buddy, I'm not kidding.

If you had bothered to read the thread you would know that it is not the amount that I pay that I have an issue with. It is Adobe's ill conceived or ill informed decision to start charging us GST seven months before they are legally obliged to.

For starters the ATO won't be geared up to legally receive such payments until after July 1, 2017 and they will probably go into some sort of holding account, eventually to disappear into consolidated revenue.

And yes, I do pay rego, rates and insurance, on the due date, and not seven months before I'm legally obliged to.

PS: For the record my annual Adobe CS6 subscription is $119.40 and at 32.7 cents a day I agree it's a bargain.

arthurking83
14-11-2016, 7:34am
....

PS: For the record my annual Adobe CS6 subscription is $119.40 and at 32.7 cents a day I agree it's a bargain.

:eek:

And here I am thinking that the $99.95 I paid for CaptureNX2 10 years ago was over the top! :p

mpb
14-11-2016, 11:34am
I beg to differ Mark.

There was a legislated tax free threshold of $1000.00. That is now being withdrawn, from July 1, 2017.



What I was getting at is that Adobe should have always been charging the GST.
Yes, there is a $1000 threshold on imported goods.
I don't believe that the threshold applies to Adobe because they have an Australian presence, they advertise here, sell their products in bricks and mortar shops etc.
They are simply getting around the GST loophole by invoicing through an overseas company.
If you read the fine print on the email they sent you, they actually confirm this, ie "Adobe Systems Software Ireland Ltd is invoicing in its capacity as a duly authorized agent for Adobe Australia Trading Pty Ltd ...etc"
It is like buying a new $900 lens from any of the makers Australian websites and them saying "If you pay direct to our head office overseas, you will not have to pay the GST."

Brian500au
14-11-2016, 9:10pm
Actually Cage I have read your post - and what you quote below is just your opinion.

You really think a company the size of Adobe is "ill conceived" or "ill Informed" when it comes to GST? There may even be a case they should have been charging GST all along, and have come to an agreement with the ATO to start charging GST now and will not be fined for not complying earlier. Do you really think collecting GST on behalf of the ATO for no profit is something Adobe agreed to blindly. You do realise this is at a cost with no financial benefit to Adobe. In fact there a people out there who will cancel their membership with Adobe because of this one dollar increase per month.


No buddy, I'm not kidding.

If you had bothered to read the thread you would know that it is not the amount that I pay that I have an issue with. It is Adobe's ill conceived or ill informed decision to start charging us GST seven months before they are legally obliged to.

For starters the ATO won't be geared up to legally receive such payments until after July 1, 2017 and they will probably go into some sort of holding account, eventually to disappear into consolidated revenue.

bricat
29-11-2016, 4:12am
I love these threads. Firstly you have a right to be peeved and express your opinion. Now as to why they are charging GST from Jan.17 is another matter. To be compliant they must register first to get their ABN. Perhaps some lackey has misread the fine print and nobody has checked.
They employ many people to avoid certain things.
After contacting Adobe then the ATO with no satisfaction I would forward my complaint to the Ombudsman.
There will be a simple explanation.

Ps. When buying from grey importers the fine print can say the buyer is responsible for taxes and duties

Cage
31-12-2016, 11:34am
A quote from my original post.


Thank you for being a valued Adobe customer. We wanted to share an important change to the tax you currently pay on your Adobe products and services.
Starting December 1, 2016, Adobe will begin to charge 10% GST on all goods and services to our customers in Australia. Learn more. Your next bill, on or after this date, will reflect the new tax rate. Note that this change does not affect the base price of your Adobe products.

I've just received notification of my January payment to Adobe. I've been paying $9.99 per month for a couple of years, and YES, I do think it's worth it.

Now unless I've totally lost the plot with basic arithmetic, $9.99 + 10% is $9.99 + $0.999, and after rounding up should come to $10.99. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

My new monthly charge is now $13.19, an increase of $3.20, or 32%. HUH ????? :confused013

Comments from those more knowledgeable than myself in our tax laws appreciated.

Gazza
31-12-2016, 12:26pm
That made me go and check my account. Only charged $10.99 here...Phew! (you must be special - :nod:)
Agree, still worth it - :th3:

Glenda
31-12-2016, 12:53pm
I'm only paying $10.99 also. Damn, Kev another thing to check out for you.

Cage
31-12-2016, 1:43pm
Just been on 'Chat' with Sharif at Adobe and this is a transcript of part of our chat.


Kevin, due to currency fluctuation the price for subscription has been change from $9.99 to A$ 11.99/month in August. However, you have been charged $9.99/month only since you have already have a annual commitment placed previously.

Customers who have placed already before the subscription price change has been charged $9.99.month for current annual commitment.

The new subscription price will be effective once the annual commitment ends and renewed for another year.

So Gazza and Glenda, I guess you can look forward to an increase when your annual sub is up for renewal.

And I still don't think Adobe is obliged to charge GST until July 1, 2017.

Glenda
01-01-2017, 7:43am
And to make matters worse they say the Aus$ will head even lower this year with some predicting even as low as 50c.

nardes
01-01-2017, 7:57am
I wonder if Adobe will then REDUCE the Au$ subscription amount when the Au$ next gets stronger against the US$.....

The cynic in me thinks not.:confused013

Happy New Year

Dennis