Taxes vs duties?

[hilljack13]

Wasn't sure where else to post this question..

So this may sound dumb, but what is the difference in taxes and duties? I have ordered several guitars from overseas from individuals and business. Only when UPS is the carrier was I told I owe money. Seems sketchy. Anyway, I thougth the new law forcing internet taxes would have covered it since I haven't paid since it became law. Now I just got a notice from UPS saying I owe close to $300.

 

[tedtan]

A tax on an item you purchase is essentially the government adding a fee to help cover its costs of serving the community. I don’t like the idea of an intra-state tax in the US as the sales taxes are levied locally, the tax rate varies from one jurisdiction to the next, and some locales don’t have a sales tax, opting for an income tax instead (Oregon, as an example).

A duty is basically a tariff, or tax or fee, placed on imported or exported goods so that the country gets a “tax” and helps to protect the locally manufactured goods by keeping them more price competitive. These duties are typically levied at the national level, though a state level duty could exist, too.

 

[hilljack13]

Seems all too confusing. If I have to pay I'll pay. I just think its odd UPS is the ONLY carrier I this happens with. DHL/FedEx no issues, even USPS when handed off to!

 

[tedtan]

Any duty would be assessed by the US Customs and Border Protection department, not the carrier, though they are supposed to collect it. I have no idea why only UPS collects it or how they determine how much to collect if the item doesn’t go through customs for assessment.

 

[ArtDecade]

Also, duties are only charged over a certain dollar amount and that can vary by country. Typically, if you are buying something for 800 bucks or more, you should expect to pay a duty on it. There is nothing suspect about UPS collecting the duty, because they don't get to keep it - the government does.

 

[hilljack13]

Just had one from Canada come in, UPS called and told the seller the value was too low!! WTF? Showed 1K CAD on the invoice and they wouldn't accept the amount.

 

[SalsaWood]

Fedex does this as well. I just got a letter from them asking for 75$ for a guitar I got a month or so back from Japan. They are still waiting.

 

[RRD]

I ordered two guitars from the same overseas shop, 1 year apart, both within 5% of each other in price (~$4k), both delivered by DHL. Was charged duty tax on the first, not on the second.

 

[NG17_Victor]

In England, importing anything over the value of £135 GBP ($180 US) incurs a tax (VAT / Value Added Tax) of 20% plus an import duty of around 5% (of the total including postage). So anything over £135 incurs a charge of 25% on top (including the percentage on top of the shipping charge) plus an £8 carrier (usually Royal Mail) fee. It's the reason I stopped importing just about anything. I used to buy loads of gear overseas until around 2012 because of this...

Re: only UPS charging: some carriers 'miss this charge' and it's only by good fortune that you are not getting charged by others...

 

[Pingu]

Various courier services like UPS and FedEx charge "Brokerage" or "Clearance" 'or whatever' fees. It's not entirely a scam, but it's basically a scam.

These are different from Taxes, which you pay to (in America) your state on every purchase; and from Duties, the set fees you pay to import something, depending on what it is.

I don't know about America but here in Canada you can (or used to be able to) call in to support and self clear your packages as long as you had a working tracking number and called in before it hit the border. I simply avoid UPS and FedEx specifically for this reason.

 

[fabronaut]

Various courier services like UPS and FedEx charge "Brokerage" or "Clearance" 'or whatever' fees. It's not entirely a scam, but it's basically a scam.

These are different from Taxes, which you pay to (in America) your state on every purchase; and from Duties, the set fees you pay to import something, depending on what it is.

I don't know about America but here in Canada you can (or used to be able to) call in to support and self clear your packages as long as you had a working tracking number and called in before it hit the border. I simply avoid UPS and FedEx specifically for this reason.

same here. hey, I'm also near Toronto, so naturally I have the same (shitty) experience with shipping carriers! FedEx is particularly the worst for this. they add an absurdly steep bullshit "processing" surcharge on goods that don't even qualify -- items that are explicitly exempt or low value (used books etc.).

they pretend they're doing you a favour and will waive the fees if you sign up for an account with them. this fee is purely grift. they just know that it's a pain in the ass to call and get them to remove the bullshit charge, so they charge whatever they want and pocket the free money. I'm willing to bet a computer processes all these transactions automatically anyway, with minimal (if any) human interaction or oversight.

I flat out asked FedEx what world they're living in where every transaction online should involve me providing a seller with a list of every single possible shipping account I may have before checking out, on the off chance that they might use their service.

this usually isn't even possible, since it's not as if every e-commerce platform has a "customer notes / requests" section when you place the order. it's nothing but pure greed, plain and simple. pretty directly comparable to the shit eBay pulled by outsourcing all their crap to Pitney Bowes, making cross-border transfers from US to Canada absurdly overpriced through that "global shipping program" nonsense.

DHL also has similarly high customs processing fees that were ~$10 - 15 CAD any time they touch something, last I checked. you can waive these, but only if you happen to live near a customs office and presumably have the time / ability to go to the office in person (?!?!) and fill out the necessary paperwork. I have no idea why this isn't possible online. truly international (i.e. cross oceans) logistics is presumably more complex, so it doesn't irk me as much. just prevents me from buying anything less expensive from overseas. much like Reverb getting hammered with sales tax in Canada (even on private sales, no less -- fuck that), this just has the net effect that I think twice about otherwise impulse purchases and don't buy anything. brilliant economic strategy right there.

tl;dr - most fees are bullshit. don't use FedEx or UPS. I explicitly ask for USPS to Canada for this reason. it's an even bigger head scratcher that China can ship random crap on AliExpress with tracking via slow boat freighters with no paperwork. I guess the volume of stuff vs. relative dollar value is impossible for customs to process it, so they go after bigger fish.

what a crock of shit. blame for the taxes and duties processing is partly on the government for not modernizing their processes and locking out individuals vs. businesses in that regard, I suppose. here's hoping some of the AI tech can be used to cut these bullshit middlemen out of the equation in the near future.