The VAT Man Cometh

John I hve all my goods sent to the work address, I don't think the delivery address is relevant when it comes to paying taxes.

I agree with Frank, a thread is a good idea to let people know, especially those who might be buying for the first time.

Too true Dave, it's not worth getting a criminal record for forty odd Euro, factor in the potential extra cost and blow it when you're not charged.

Paul

Frank_Ryan_jr wrote:

One other thing.
If you do go to the States on holliday and
buy something over the set value of what
the customs allow you to bring in,
then you must not enter the
'nothing to declare' channel
because this would be an attempt to
not pay what is due.
Same principle as posting it to a different address.

Whenever travelling outside the EU and then coming back, if I have any doubt, I simply go through the red channel and explain that I'm not sure. After waiting for a few minutes, someone will come out to you and will politely tell you if you need to declare anything you have with you (that you are unsure of) or just simply to "have a nice day"!

I did this with a load of cigarettes I'd bought in the US. The guy in the duty free shop in San Fransisco said 1000. But when I landed in Ireland, I checked the poster they have up there and it said 200. There were two of us so we were 600 over. I duly went through the red channel, waited about 5 minutes, started to explain myself and that I'd made a mistake but was cut off half way through and told to "have a nice day Sir"... I got the impression that a few hundred extra cigarettes didntt even register on the radar.

I think that generally, the C&E folks are trying to catch smugglers of drugs and weapons etc rather than take a few quid off someone with an extra couple of hundred ciggies or one more litre of Jack Daniels than you should. Of course, that would be the limit. If you had 3 grands worth of Prada/Gucci, 2000 extra ciggies or 10 bottles of vintage Port, then I'd thing their eyebrows would raise.

However, at least if you go through the red channel, you are admitting either a mistake and a genuine gesture to pay or you are admitting you are not sure. If you do that, I think you would be terated just fine and in some cases, if it was genuine and you are just over the limit, you'll probably be waved through possibly with a gentle "don't forget the limits next time...".

If however you go through the Green channel and are stopped, searched and found to be in breach of the limits, I would expect much harsher treatment and probably to have all your goods confiscated, never to be seen again.

Of course, in my examples above, 3K worth of Gucci/Chanel could be replaced with 3K worth of Televue/Takahashi...

Do the right thing and you will at least be treated kindly and respectfully and without any negativity. Try and evade tax and, if you are caught, expect nothing but the worst - confiscation, a fine and a criminal record.

Mark - I've heard (on the radio just in recent months) of prospective employers digging through candidate facebook pages and based on what they saw, rejected potential employees. I also heard last year of employers checking facebook pages of employees with a poor attendance record and then sacking them based on what the employee had writen on their site ("went on the lash today" etc). It would be a very determined employer who trawled boards in order to dig the dirt but I guess for higher position jobs or those of a sensitive nature, it wouldn't surprise me...

So yes, Big Brother might be watching...

lunartic wrote:

John I hve all my goods sent to the work address, I don't think the delivery address is relevant when it comes to paying taxes.

I agree with Frank, a thread is a good idea to let people know, especially those who might be buying for the first time.

Too true Dave, it's not worth getting a criminal record for forty odd Euro, factor in the potential extra cost and blow it when you're not charged.

Paul

I have only gotten stuff from the US a few times with a fairly low value. The full value of the goods was declared on the paperwork and payed for in full with a personal credit card. Nothing underhanded here. I was not charged duty. You can be lucky but as Dave said there should be full declaration.

Several years ago I'd get a VAT bill for maybe 40% of my purchases from the States. (Being an ex-pat, I get a lot of stuff sent over from the States.) Using the USPS used to drop that to maybe 10% or even less.

Recently, it's been more like 80% of purchases, and the USPS angle only drops that marginally (if at all).

More expensive items tend to increase the chances of getting a bill. And it's not just Murphy's Law: I can't remember a single time I got a "free ride" on anything with a value over €1000.

Like Dave, I just assume I'm going to pay an extra 25%. If I don't get a bill, then it's all gravy.

-- Jeff.

My own experience has also been mixed. I bought exactly the same item from losmandy twice. On the first occassion I got billed. On the second occassion I grabbed my chequebook when I saw the postman coming up the path and when I asked how much I owed he said I owed nothing.

I certainly dont mind paying the VAT as thats the law of the land as they say. It does bug me to hell when UPS/DHL etc charge me a fee just for the letting me pay my dues. Thats taking the mick IMO.

I generally source stuff from inside Europe (mainly UK) when at all possible for two reasons. First if there is a problem, I'm not shipping back to the US and secondly it can be just as cheap if you find the product you want at the right price. Also there are 3/4 dealers in the UK who I have a lot of trust in and I try to buy from these wherever possible.

Also looking out for good second hand bargains can really save you a lot more money and hassle than buying from the US.