posted on April 4, 2001 03:07:59 PM
There is a toner cartridge for my printer that I would like to bid on and the seller is in Canada. I went to the US customs site, but I really couldn't come up with anything. Is there a rule of thumb of what I would have to pay on this? Thanks.
Sorry, but that's incorrect. Items going south can indeed have duty placed on them, it depends on the item & where the item was originally manufactured.
Most items going either way across the border between Canada & the USA are Duty Free, but up here we're charged Taxes on everything. It has nothing to do with the item crossing the border for us Canucks, we pay a Federal Tax of 7% on everything. Folks in most Provinces also pay a Provincial Tax as well.
I know that what gets paid (in most cases) is not a "duty", but if I ship something from Florida to New York, the buyer pays NO taxes of any kind.
If you ship something from Canada to New York, again (in almost all cases) the buyer pays NO taxes.
If I ship something to you (worth more than $20CD) you pay "sales" taxes (GSP, or what ever you call it) on it.
If you ship something to me (worth, lets say, $200US) I don't pay "sales" tax.
Since we are both interested in getting the best deal for our money, AND we (or rather our respective governments) have what is supposed to be a "Free Trade Agreement" why do my sales to you get taxed, but your sales to me don't? (you don't have to answer, this is a theroetical question).
As for if it has anything to do with crossing a border, yes it does. When it leaves Florida going to any other state in the USA all "sales taxes" vanish, until it hits your border.
I can see that from your point of veiw that it isn't a border tax, but if it cost you $23.00 to make a $20.00 purchase from me, and it cost me $20.00 to make a $20.00 purchase from you, then we are not playing on a level field. (and taxes are being imposed when it crosses the border, reguardless of what label you put on them)
You and I can not do anything about any of this, but I fear my government is just a little too nice when they make these "Free Trade" deals.
Oh, BTW you inhale the same air the snowbirds in New York inhale...
I think you missed my point? Up here it doesn't matter where you buy it from, anything considered goods or services are taxed, period. It doesn't matter if that $20 item was purchased across the street from my house, or from 10,000 miles away, it's all taxed. Canada Customs & Revenue are just making sure that Canucks don't get to thinking that if they purchase something from out of the country, that they can get away without paying the 7% GST. It sucks, but that's life.
FYI - The air out west here is far cleaner than what your snowbirds are taking in.
My MAIN point in the first post was the US Customs does indeed charge DUTY for some items that are shipped from Canada to the US. It depends on the item, and where it was originally manufactured.
I have no idea about toner, but I do know that some Textiles have a hefty Duty fee tagged on to them.
If I understand it right, nothing that was originally manufactured in the USA or Canada has a "duty" going either direction. (if there are exceptions, I don't know about them.) Things manufactured elsewhere but crossing our border out of Canada would have a "duty" just like it had been imported directly from the country of manufacture.
I also *think* I understand your GST, and I see that from your point of view it really doesn't matter where something comes from. But from my point of view, it does. (Our state sales taxes work differently than your GST. Our constitution forbids States from regulating OR taxing inter-state sales. Sooner or later (later I hope) our Feds will get around to a federal sales tax )
Where out west? The Military had me in Edmonton Alberta for about 5 years. Nice country up there. Kinda cold in the winters, but other than that, very nice.
posted on April 4, 2001 07:56:42 PM
Oh well. I bid on it anyways. It is manufactured in Japan (Epson). The cheapest I can buy it for is $120 and his price with shipping was $50. As long as it's not double I can live with it.
Yes, that's correct, but you yanks have it lucky with most items under $200 being exempt from Duty. We get whacked with the Tax on anything over $13 US. Aren't we special.
I'm 2 hours south of Edmonton, in a little place in the valley called Ded Reer.
posted on April 5, 2001 12:07:49 AM
Hi marlenedz. My family does importing, not from Canada though. Anyway, go to this website. If you can't find the specific info you need, you will be able to find out how to call for help.
Scroll down and click on to Popular Publications, then click on Know Before You Go, Sending Goods to the U.S., U.S. Mail Shipments. For some reason the url won't let me post the exact page.
Depending on where you live, you can call your local Customs office. They will tell you exactly the info you need--they have always been very helpful to us in New Orleans.
My guess is that you won't have to pay a duty on the $50 toner cartridge from Canada. It's not one of the American 'protected industry' items like the textiles that someone mentioned earlier.
...but if I ship something from Florida to New York, the buyer pays NO taxes of any kind.
The buyer may not actually pay any taxes, but how much are you willing to bet that they are supposed to?
Most states with a sales tax also have a use tax. From the website of the tax commission where I live:
Do I owe sales tax if I purchase something on the Internet?
When you purchase items on the Internet and they are shipped to you in Idaho, the items you purchase are subject to sales tax. Some retailers are not required to collect Idaho sales tax. If you are not charged Idaho sales tax on your purchase, you owe use tax of 5%. You can report use tax on your Idaho income tax return or Form 850U, Self Assessed Use Tax Return. Businesses must have a use tax permit if they purchase items without paying sales tax.
I saw a listing on ebay today where the seller included a note that due to an audit he has to now charge 7% GST plus the PST for whatever Province he mails to. He is in the USA. How does the money he collects get back to Canada or is this just another scam?
posted on April 5, 2001 08:09:00 AM
Now that's a scam. You have to reside in Canada before you can collect GST. You can only collect GST if you have a registered GST number (needed if you sell over $30,000 a year). You can ONLY collect PST (provincial sales tax) for the province you reside in!!
A seller who lives in Ontario can only collect sales tax for the province he lives in. He cannot try to tax me (I live in Alberta).
Red-deer, don't you have to be "registered" to even collect the PST? Of course we don't have to worry about PST because we live in the only PST-province in Canada (Alberta)!
posted on April 5, 2001 08:40:59 AM
I know a few Canadian sellers who have USA as their location on their listings.
Over the years we have done business with several sellers in other Provinces who have asked us to pay PST and GST on our purchases. At times this has not been noted in their TOS and sprung on us afterwards.
I am a registered business and I have asked them for their GST # for my records. None of them were forthcoming with it and quickly dropped the charge. You have to be a registered business to collect either tax.
As a buyer I think you have the right to know if they are registered if they are asking for the tax. The GST # is on most till slips in a retail establishment.
Edited to add that some new sellers were under the misconception that they had to collect GST on their sales but they were not a registered business.
[ edited by shaani on Apr 5, 2001 09:44 AM ]
[ edited by shaani on Apr 5, 2001 09:52 AM ]
posted on April 5, 2001 09:55:53 AM
"Edited to add that some new sellers were under the misconception that they had to collect GST on their sales but they were not a registered business"
posted on April 5, 2001 09:58:34 AM
Purchases sent by a merchant abroad
The merchant will attach an international customs declaration to your package, which he or she should fill out with a complete, accurate description of the parcel's contents and value. The merchant will then mail or ship the package to the address you supply.
Although the merchant may charge you for the cost of mailing or shipping your package, he should not charge you for U.S. Customs duties. Customs duties are not assessed until a package arrives in the United States, and they cannot be paid in advance. If a merchant tells you that you must prepay duty, do not believe him or her. The Postal Service in the United States will collect any duty owed from the recipient; in fact, by law, only the designated recipient (addressee) is liable for duty. The shipment's originator-the merchant, for example-will not be charged duty for goods that he or she has sent to the United States.
" Most personal shipments worth up to $200, and gift packages worth up to $100, will pass duty-free as long as the recipient does not receive multiple packages in a single day whose cumulative value is more than these amounts. "
From US CUSTOMS REGULATIONS
PS. it is possible for non resisident to have GST account. I ahve previously held one for importations to Canada for subsequent sale.
So far we have encountered two sellers that have done this. Both seemed quite innocent and I believe that they thought they were following the law and misunderstood how things should be done. Hopefully they were planning to remit the money?
One of my husband's purchases almost fell through a couple of years ago because of the PST & GST demands from a seller in another Province. He declined to pay the PST and she refused to give him her GST #. No taxes were mentioned in the TOS. In the end she said he could purchase without paying either tax but she was not an easy person to deal with.
posted on April 5, 2001 10:49:16 AM
Engels ....... Yes, you have to be registered to collect ANY tax on Cdn sales. I'm a registered business and as such I have to pay GST on any sales to Cdn buyers. I decided to eat the GST on my end as most times my Cdn bidders don't win, but their extra bids mean higher final prices on my items.
Shanni ...... That's a pet peeve of mine as well, and unless GST is stated in the auction, I tell them to either give me their Biz #, or lose the tax. If they make a stink, I let them know I'll be happy to contact Revenue Canada & get their biz # from them. That usually ends the GST discussion.
Netsw ....... Always appreciate you input on these subjects, thanks! Hope your biz is doing well.
posted on April 5, 2001 11:51:41 AM
mrpotatoheadd:
What about the constitution? The part that says states can NOT regulate interstate Commerce :
" The Congress shall have Power To...."
"To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes"
If adding taxes to an interstate sale isn't part of regulating it, I don't know what is. Let the state of Florida try to collect any "USE TAX" on something I buy from someone out side the state. This is reserved for the Federal Government.
Use tax is a component of Florida's sales and use tax. It is due on purchases made out-of-state and brought into Florida within six months of the purchase date. Also, if you purchase a product tax exempt that you plan to sell at retail, but end up using it at your place of business, the "use" of the product is subject to sales tax. If you purchase materials that are "consumed" in a manufacturing process to create your end product but are not part of the end product, those materials are subject to sales tax. Local discretionary sales surtax also applies to these purchases.
posted on April 5, 2001 05:50:39 PM
mrpotatoheadd:
Like I said earlier, let them try. When I went to school, the Constitution of the United States is the final say as to what is legal and what is not. Years ago states tryed to make mail order sellers collect sales taxes on stuff going out to other states. Do you know what happened to THOSE laws?
You're arguing with the wrong person. Give your state tax commission a call and see what they have to say- they're the ones who are able to send guys with guns to enforce the laws enacted by the folks you voted into office.
posted on April 5, 2001 06:50:36 PM
mrpotatoheadd:
I'm not trying to argue with you, but there have been LOTS of State Laws that have been found to be Unconstitutional. Those Guys with the guns are NOT the final say in what is constitutional, and what is not.
I suspect that this is why these laws are not inforced, it will only take them trying to force the wrong person to pay an Uncostitutional tax for it to wind up in Federal Court (and be voided, just like the laws that used to be on the books in most states making mail order sellers collect slaes tax on stuff going out of state).
I fully expect, as we move farther into a "global economy", and web based sales increase, that the Federal Government will slap us with a Federal Sales Tax. If /when this happens, it will be constitutional, and even tho' no one is going to like it, we are going to have to pay it.
)
