I’m not sure if this is new or something I missed in the past entirely.
I recently renewed my Paramount plus subscription because they offered me a deal. I was given the price $115.99 with 50% off. All good. When I received the reciept they gave me the discount but they added tax to the final price. I was under the impression that in Australia all prices hace to include tax or is it voluntary?
Probably GST which is added at the last at 10%, most places quote the GST this way. Or GST is calculated into the price as 1/11th.
An example invoice from ATO Tax Invoice Requirements 2026: The 7 Fields You Must Include | Free Invoice App
It is illegal to display a price and then add GST to the displayed price when presented to consumers,. The displayed price must include GST:
Edit: This is what the ACCC says:
The ACCC is very clear displayed retail prices must be that inclusive of GST. If Paramount are displaying prices as ex-GST and adding GST at the time of payment, they are breaking the law.
I agree , I thought the law stipulated all advertised prices had to include GST
Sometimes websites located outside Australia may initially display their local currency, or when one indicates a region the relevant currency. Some do so automatically based on the IP Address one appears to be connecting from. Not all nations have the same requirement on how pricing should be determined, subject to taxes only being certain when delivery/invoice and payment details are confirmed.
If it is an Australian web site Consumer Law as previously mentioned applies. If it is served from a foreign location it is less relevant whether the ACL applies, but whether enforcement is possible and practical. The ACCC has taken major international businesses to task with varying degrees of success. For Paramount+, for any prospect of actions how often would there need to be complaint and how substantial the consequences for Australian Consumers of non compliance by Paramount+?
One would have expected if the OP was logged into their account at the time Paramount+ would be fully aware of the service location and Australian tax status.
It would assist further discussion if the OP could share screen shots including the web address to clarify/demonstrate what occurred.
US listed Paramount Skydance Corporation is the head entity.
The streaming platform per Wikipedia operates under the company’s regional division, Paramount Australia and New Zealand , which also owns and operates Network 10
This doesn’t apply to Paramount+. If one is accessing Paramount + from an Australian IP address, it automatically redirects one to the Paramount + Australia website where everything is in AUDs.
If one is using a VPN where the IP was outside Australia, seeing currencies other than AUD may be possible. I haven’t checked to see if Paramount + blocks known VPN IPs. Some multinational streaming services block VPN IPs to prevent access to content from countries where access to such content isn’t covered by licensing agreements.
So on my paramount account it says $115.99 AUD/year. I have attached a photo of my email but didn’t want to include more because of identifying information.
The $115/year includes GST. Paramount’s presentation of the calculation is poor.
In simple terms and how most businesses would present the transaction is:
Full price =$115/year.
With discount of 50%, the discounted price is $57.99 (inc. GST of $5.27)
While Paramount meets legislative requirements for displaying total price, its breakdown of how the discount applies and GST paid is poor and not easy for a consumer to understand.
The last statement that Next Payment Price is also confusing as the price of $115 includes GST. I am not sure there are any additional taxes and it could be the statement has been created to cover transactions in countries other than Australia. For Australia, the wording should have been including GST instead of plus any additional taxes.
