Discuss: C2C marketplaces like Carousell could be most hurt by ecommerce tax

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Talks about ecommerce tax in Southeast Asia surfaced in the headlines as economists predicted its inclusion in the recently announced Singapore Budget 2018.

Turns out, Singapore will not implement an ecommerce levy just yet, but as governments across the region continue to mull this type of regulation, it is timely to talk about its possible effects.

We asked several industry players for their thoughts.

Editor’s note: Answers have been edited for clarity.

Sheji Ho, group chief marketing officer at aCommerce

Ecommerce tax won’t slow down the growth of ecommerce in Asia, especially in the B2C space where we have brands selling on marketplaces or directly to customers. Brands and big corporations are used to paying taxes.

Having said that, the big impact will be on the P2P (listings) and C2C spaces (platforms like Carousell, OLX, and, to a lesser extent, Shopee). If sellers here are taxed, they will likely flee to “shadow marketplaces” such as Facebook, Instagram, and Line.

In Thailand, for example, these shadow marketplaces already make up an estimated 50 percent of total ecommerce gross merchandise value. In the P2P and C2C space, most sellers sell secondhand products imported from China, so their margins are often low and they cannot afford to pay taxes.

All in all, the pie won’t stop growing, but its composition may change as a result of ecommerce tax.

Let’s discuss