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Taiwanese animators mock web tax push

Australian retailers have been mocked by Taiwanese animators for urging the government to impose tax on all goods purchased online.

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Source: SBS


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Australian retailers have been mocked by Taiwanese Internet animators for urging the government to impose tax on all goods purchased online.

The video, subtitled in English, features Harvey Norman founder Gerry Harvey, who spearheaded an advertising campaign demanding the Goods and Services tax be applied for Internet buys below $1,000.

In the campaign, retailers asked for a 'fair go', saying the fact they have to charge GST but their overseas online counterparts do not disadvantages them.

The retailers' demand was wildly unpopular with consumers, and Harvey downgraded his involvement with the campaign after facing a vicious backlash from consumers, who called participating retailers greedy.

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The video opens with a suit-clad Harvey flanked by two other retailers, crying projectile tears over their perceived unfair treatment.

It asserts that they got little sympathy from shoppers whom it shows dying due to long waits in checkout queues.

The price difference between foreign- and locally-bought goods is represented by a face-off between a panda and a kangaroo clutching the same pair of jeans for $50 and $150, with the panda knocking the kangaroo to the ground.

The Taiwanese animation website, NMATv, shot to fame in Novermber 2009 with a reconstruction of star golfer Tiger Woods' fall from grace.

The clip showed Woods' wife, model Elin Nordegren, bashing the back of his four-wheel drive with a golf club after discovering his infidelities.

The video went viral, attracting millions of views worldwide.

Since then, the animators have recreated a host of world news events in their unique style.

Most notably, NMATv.com depicted whistleblower organisation WikiLeaks' release of 250,000 US diplomatic cables, and Australian rugby player Joel Monaghan's ignominious drunken interaction with an amorous dog.


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