Vorarlberg retailers criticize new parcel tax as unfair

Retailers in Vorarlberg say Austria’s new parcel tax may do little to boost local shops and could burden small businesses selling through online marketplaces, ORF reported. The €2.40 charge took effect on October 1 and is intended to raise revenue and make purchases from Austrian retailers more attractive.

The Finance Ministry expects the levy to bring in an additional €280 million, partly offsetting a value-added tax cut that took effect on July 1. It applies to online retailers and marketplaces that generated more than €100 million in mail-order sales last year. The charge, including VAT, is calculated per order or per parcel, at the retailer’s discretion.

Customers do not receive a refund of the tax if they return a parcel or part of an order. The charge can be reclaimed if a parcel is lost, and it does not apply to replacement deliveries or orders placed for collection in a shop. It does apply to orders made by telephone.

Stefanie Walser, head of the Fashion and Leisure Goods division at the Vorarlberg Economic Chamber and a business owner, said the levy might put local retailers at a disadvantage. She said it was unlikely to generate many additional purchases for regional shops and could affect small and medium-sized Austrian businesses that sell through platforms such as Amazon.

Those businesses rely on marketplace sales, Walser said, as city-centre footfall declines. She argued for a cross-border system under which taxes are paid where purchases are made, rather than companies paying tax in countries such as Ireland.

Verena Brunner, managing director of Brunner Bookshop, said online shopping had become more important since the pandemic, although many of the shop’s online orders are collected in person. She said the levy could encourage consumers to buy in Austria, but its direct benefit to local retailers remained to be seen.

Brunner also noted that a €2 customs duty on shipments worth less than €150 from outside the EU took effect on July 1, and a further €2 processing fee is due to begin on November 1. Together with the Austrian parcel levy, those charges could add up to €7.40 per parcel, she said. Buying from Austrian online shops, she added, contributes to the country’s tax revenue.