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avoiding import tax
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Import tax is one of those little bitch taxes that it's ok to avoid. Here is my question:
When I order supplements from the states I spend a fucking premium on import tax for no discernable reason because the government are assholes. Would I likely still have to pay this if I had them mailed to a friend in the states who then mailed them to me?
When I order supplements from the states I spend a fucking premium on import tax for no discernable reason because the government are assholes. Would I likely still have to pay this if I had them mailed to a friend in the states who then mailed them to me?
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Besides, if he insures it, they'll only give him the listed value for it if something happens. You could spend a hundred bucks on supplements, he could declare them as ten bucks worth of Tums, and when the box vanishes, you're out ninety bucks. Or your friend is in deep shit with Customs and the IRS.
I can has cheezburger, yes?
Import taxes are *not* overly high if you're dealing with them the right way. The really ridiculous fees come when whoever you ship with charges you $rape for "brokerage services." You end up paying $20 on a bottle of pills because someone charged you by the hour as they stood around while the customers officer opened it.
The import duties on medication, including vitamins, is 0% if the product was made in the US, or 7% if it wasn't. Then you need to pay the 5% GST on top of that. So, you're looking at an absolute maximum actual duty rate of 12%. If the company you order from charges you more than that, tell them to knock it the fuck off, or find a different supplier.
You asshole, he bolded and underlined it. Can't you listen to him just this once?!
I don't live in the united states, so nothing is a "federal level crime"
So if the previously mentioned plan of sending it to a friend is done (the delivery is free), this would not be part of the equation and I can just pay the postage and the 12% import duty and presumably save a lot of money?
I can has cheezburger, yes?
because then my friend is out several hundred dollars?
Pretty much, yes. The trick would be to make sure that your friend sent it via regular mail - USPS First Class or some variation thereof. As soon as companies like FedEx and UPS get involved, you start dealing with brokerage fees. But if he ships it regular mail, with a clear label on it specifying what it is and how much it's worth, you will be charged an absolute maximum of 12% duty, more likely just 5% (plus a flat $5 customs charge). What will happen is, you'll get a notice in your mailbox informing you that you have a package waiting that you owe duties on, it will provide the address where your package is being held, then you just trot down there at your convenience and fork over the $X.
And yes, Jayson, you do need to pay duties on all goods received from other countries, unless the goods are intended and clearly marked as a gift (and/or the goods have a declared value of less than $20, but if we're talking about a big box chock full o' vitamins, trying to pull that shit would be retarded).
Excellent! That's solved my problem, cheers. It's not the tax I have a problem with, it's the fact that it was something like 35% of the value of the goods.
My advice would be to not break them.
If he is indeed just looking to minimize/avoid taxes to the maximum extent legally possible, there's nothing wrong with that -- different shipping methods, declaration methods, and countries of origin can make a HUGE difference in what you pay (this is coming from a guy who has had to deal with bringing everything from computer parts to guitars to shoes across the Canadian border in the last month). There's definitely "wiggle room" to ethically cut your costs. The reason a couple of us jumped on his case, though, is that his original title combined with his first post implied "dodge" rather than "minimize".