john_s
Well-known
..........Dutch Postal services are now mainly run by TNT-post, they are methodical bar-stewards. They tax every package coming in outside of Europe...at least mine all are.....
Here in Australia one has a good chance of not being charged if the item arrives by post, but the international companies like UPS, DHL etc seem very much on the ball about charging everything they can. I suspect it is a legal obligation to do the customs' business, but for the post office, no one expects them to be efficient or consistent.
kully
Happy Snapper
It's been exactly the same for me. With this and the weakening of Sterling... it's going to be UK only now.
The good times were certainly good
mr_phillip
Well-known
Damn! Trust HM Customs to get efficient just when I'm waiting for a package from Hong Kong.
My hit rate used to be around 50-50. The best experience I had was when a used 75mm Heliar turned up with a sticker on the box saying it had been intercepted and opened by Customs, but they had decided there was no fee to pay. Guess they couldn't work out how much a second hand Voigtländer lens was worth so they just waived it through. Still delayed it by a week or more though.
My hit rate used to be around 50-50. The best experience I had was when a used 75mm Heliar turned up with a sticker on the box saying it had been intercepted and opened by Customs, but they had decided there was no fee to pay. Guess they couldn't work out how much a second hand Voigtländer lens was worth so they just waived it through. Still delayed it by a week or more though.
Matus
Well-known
I can only confirm the tax experience in Germany. While 3 years ago I got taxed in some 30 - 50 % of the cases, everything I bough this year was fully taxed. Of course I had to go in person to the duty office, spent there a lot of time (they are so dedicated and slow) as I have to explain what kind of stuff it is where it was produced, then they search how much the tax will be , ... and pay a lot of money in the end.
And on top of this all - it somehow leaves a strange feeling - like I was caught doing something wrong. I hate this more than the taxes themselves.
They could be professional enough to send me the bill and once I pay to send me the goods and save my time and mood.
The story with the UPS and drivers accepting only cash and having no change is also quite annoying.
ah, the dark side of the photography are duties and not the darkroom ...
...
But I have to oppose the opinion that every time a camera or lens is sold - a tax is collected. If you sell within your country (or EU or similar) you do NOT pay taxes if it is a private business (though there are more regulations of course). Only if you sell abroad.
And on top of this all - it somehow leaves a strange feeling - like I was caught doing something wrong. I hate this more than the taxes themselves.
They could be professional enough to send me the bill and once I pay to send me the goods and save my time and mood.
The story with the UPS and drivers accepting only cash and having no change is also quite annoying.
ah, the dark side of the photography are duties and not the darkroom ...
...
But I have to oppose the opinion that every time a camera or lens is sold - a tax is collected. If you sell within your country (or EU or similar) you do NOT pay taxes if it is a private business (though there are more regulations of course). Only if you sell abroad.
JohnTF
Veteran
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