captain_anchovy;98984 wroteThink i read somewhere that anything under about $500 isnt worth taxing.
Then the Libs changed that to "let's just tax everything".
nickm;98970 wroteJoe Hockeyomics.
It used to be the Post Office or shipper would hold till the duty was paid (pre gst).
Talk of a $20 threshold. But for a $2 fee I see it not working.
We need to wait and see if the act is introduced
Yeah, I bought a box full of CDs from the USA during the John Howard era. I asked customs at the time for info, but they were so vague and confusing to get a straight answer from. When it arrived - it didn't - a card came instead. Demanding another $70 or so, saying if I didn't pay it the box would be returned to the USA OR destroyed. Some choice. I phoned them again and asked how to know which would happen? They couldn't or wouldn't tell me. (It would have been cheaper to let it return, split the order into two, and send again.)
Another time the exchange rate changed dramatically while another box was in transit. Taking it over the value limit. Got another 'pay up or else' card.
So I don't know why the media, etc. say it's difficult to charge. Because they managed it well enough back then. i.e. Everything over a certain value received that stinking 'go directly to gaol, do not pass go, do not collect...' card. There's more packages now. But just like mail sorting machines, they only need to pass items on a belt past a computerised scanner. And everything not conforming to particular parameters is sent an extortion letter like before.
