Saturday, October 27, 2007

Import duty


Sometimes I love Denmark!

A couple of weeks ago I ordered 2 T shirts in a sale of a bike clothing company called Twin Six, they were a whopping $12 each and I think the postage was $10 so the total cost was $34.
They arrived this morning and in order to get them from the post office I had to pay some import duty, VAT, administrative costs and then 25% VAT on that I think.
That meant that I had to pay Denmark Inc 169 Kr or slightly more than $34.
I am glad that the customs officers have enough time on their hands that they open a package labelled as 2 T shirts - $24 value and then complete all the paperwork etc to make sure I get screwed. Heaven forbid that anything might slip through the net...

15 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:15 pm

    They obviously read the words 'Bike Nerd'

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  2. Anonymous11:09 pm

    Brilliant comment.
    It must be Ben - the harsh little sod.
    m

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  3. Anonymous2:17 am

    Unbelievable how steep that tarrif was.

    Di

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  4. Harsh sod here is a kind of ground cover - not a hint of sexual abuse
    WRM
    Have to agree about the import tax on a tee shirt

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  5. Anonymous10:23 am

    It would be the same in UK. If you order things from outside EU there will be toll and VAT etc. added to the price. If it wasn't so, why not buy all your stuff online from China?
    /Lars

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  6. In the UK there is a minimum value of £18 under which there is no duty to pay (which would include this case)
    VAT is of course less as well and I don't recall every having to pay VAT for farting in the UK, but have regulary been invoiced for such things in Denmark.
    Don't get me started on how we have to pay VAT on the tax we pay for having the bins emptied...

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  7. Anonymous2:26 pm

    First, on the t-shirts part of the expense is a fine for trying to import non-EU goods around the customs. Second, you do not have to pay a penny for Jeremys education all the way through university? And he will get goverment support through his education. Yes, we have high taxes and VAT in DK, but we also have benefits that you do not find in the rest of the world, e.g. 6 weeks paid vacation and 37 hours work week. And what about wellfare for the elderly people?
    /Lars

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  8. Anonymous4:38 pm

    The elderly people thank you for your concern. ajen

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  9. Anonymous5:30 pm

    I shall come & live in Denmark immediately.
    I am searching the internet for a course to train as a "Fart Detector".
    We do not have such career opportunities in the UK!

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  10. Anonymous5:31 pm

    There was no hint of sexual abuse in my comment.
    This was a term of endearment.
    m

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  11. I amlost never complain about income tax and I don't mind if I have to pay import duty on a car, Rolex or something expensive, what annoys me is that the parcel is labelled to have a value of $24 which is correct, but the customs office open it and decide that the value is $49 based on the total shown on the invoice. However, the invoice is for 3 items, one of which was out of stock and therefor crossed off the list and I don't think I should pay import duty on the shipping costs. The fine and VAT and admin costs on the $24 would be OK although annoying, but they charged me basek on $49. I am going to make sure that I get my money's worth out of the administration charge, which I doubt covers the costs of openinf the parcel, filling in the forms, printing the paperwork, resealing the parcel, collecting the cash etc etc.
    BTW I don't think the 6 weeks paid leave or 37 hour week (same as the rest of EU) is anything to do with tax!

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  12. Anonymous10:53 pm

    The US doesn't have 6 weeks paid vacation or free college education. But it seems to me what I'm hearing is that there's something like fiancial gestapos' lurking over people's shoulders over there taking a little money here, a little money there and in the end it tends to dampen peoples natural desires to work cause they like to use their gifts and want to benefit from their hard work. I don't know if all the little taxes end up being less or more than the education or extra vacation weeks, but it sorta ends up that people don't have a 'choice' and choice is one of the most important things we have in society, that makes it strong in so many ways. Economic decisions are very close to democratic ones, that's what the US started out trying to bring to the fore couple centuries ago when we wanted freedom.

    Di

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  13. Anonymous12:02 am

    what a load of twaddle!

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  14. "fiancial gestapos" - careful!
    Essentially if you don't like paying a lot of tax then don't live in Denmark. I chose to move here (somewhat blindly, but that was my choice) and now I am paying for the privelage in fiancial terms. J has good child care that is affordable and there is usable public transport. The cost of living is so high and culture dictates that in many families both parent work full time and employers have had to be flexible enough to adapt to this, hence the reduced working hours although I did have 8 weeks worth of overtime by the end of last year.
    Essentially you choose, but sometimes the extra surprise tax feels like a kick in the nuts!

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  15. Anonymous11:38 pm

    Is there a tax on 'n's'?
    Presumably much of the overtime was accrued 'w'fh (!) Most salaried staff do not get overtime or time in lieu - think yourself lucky! GBN

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