Tell me about it. I've gotten used to it however and factor it in to any purchase I make from the states.
I was just thinking about this. A camera that was made in Japan might have some duties worked into the price when it is sold new in the US. I then buy that camera (used) from a US store and pay duties to get it into Canada. I then sell the camera back to someone in the states and he pays duties. Never mind the fact that it has been hit with sales tax three times at this point. That can't make sense to any one.
I am also aware that agreements change, and some countries have different status on goods produced there, which further complicates things.
It also seems odd that a camera made and sold in Germany in 1930, passed about, and shipped back, may well be taxed again.
The ultimate taxation is collected because of some registration, such as in automobiles, where it is easy to collect tax each time the title is transferred, while even an expensive item purchased at, say, a camera show, often for cash, is a "private" sale and yields no tax for the various jurisdictions.
At the same time, if I buy an expensive used item in the EU, export it when I leave, I cannot get a tax refund because the item is not new.
We also may be dealing with any number of sales taxes, you might end up with a combination of a city, county, state and though I cannot name one, some sort of federal tax.
If I buy a camera in one state and it is shipped to me in another, no tax. If a state certified teacher buys anything in Ohio that is a computer peripheral used in the preparation of lessons, it is tax exempt, if you can find the paper work. If I buy the same item in another state, I might have to pay the tax there, if I am transporting it myself.
If you are looking to a point, it is simply that the codes are not simple, and if the amount is small, I tend to choose what is expedient over time consuming, grumble a bit and pay, and sometimes the officials involved also realize efficiency may be to not waste too much time on peanuts.
An injection of common sense is always refreshing when it occurs.
I do hate the assumption that arises that everyone is simply trying to get one over and has some borderline criminal intent. If it comes to it that everyone is, in fact, a criminal, we have bigger problems and we are not going to have much respect or support for the systems we rely on.
I pay my taxes, but I do cash the refund check when I get one, which is a kind of correction for tax paid up front. If I wanted to donate more funds to the government, helping them with their needs, I suppose I would simply not cash that check. ;-)
I suppose the customs guys are helping us patriotically support any number of governments, sometimes several times. ;-)
Regards, John
