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UK abolishes <£15 VAT free imports. EU to follow.
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all_repair:
Enjoy while the good time last.  If there is any subsidy for no Vat, is always on me, not on the overseas sellers at all.  Cheap cost also mean I can take more risk, and iterations can be faster.  Politicians or media like to distort the logic, and people do fall for it.  Unless there is local manufacturers, buying from the local, just feed another layer of friction that perform no useful function.  Many local sellers here, end up would not be able to survive unless they can value-add which many cannot, and do not bother to as well.  But local landlords are especially happy if there are more friction add to any overseas trade.  And landlords are the last people I would want to support.  I know of many (almost all) don't reinvest on the rental income to other productive area, but always on overseas holiday before covid19.
Microdoser:

--- Quote from: petematthews on January 10, 2021, 01:46:09 am ---> Shame I will now have to pay tax on every crappy little item from JLCPCB or AliExpress but hey, prices are so low that 20% won't break the bank.

Yeah, I don't have a problem paying the VAT, but my current issue is that JLCPCB have no intention of registering with HMRC (I mailed their support), and I don't blame them. The cost and hassle for the ability to deal with small-order UK personal stuff is not the most persuasive argument I've heard :)

--- End quote ---

Personally, I will either see the results of someone else ordering from them or make a small non-vital order and see what happens myself.

If it is the responsibility of the sender to pay VAT then I will not get a charge, either it gets delivered or it does not.

If I find that the item still gets delivered anyway then I will carry on as normal. If the item is returned to sender then I will adjust my purchasing habits accordingly, either by making larger orders from JLCPCB or getting the item from an Ebay reseller in the UK.
Bicurico:
In my opinion, the problem is not paying VAT, but rather the cost, delay and bureaucracy that will be involved in actually charging it.

The reason that the EU post-poned this new rule to July was exactly because there was no way of actually handling it, especially with the increased purchases due to COVID.

On the other hand, I am not that worried. Gearbest, Banggood and similar already offer purchases from their "EU stores", which are really just an intermediate at tax havens like Netherlands. They receive the package, put it in a new envelope and ship tax-free to the customer (EU to EU). Also, 23% VAT (in case of Portugal) on a 20 Euro purchase is irrelevant, if there are no further costs involved, which I do fear (handling, invoicing, VAT application fee, etc.).

What really annoys me is how goverments in democratic countries (EU, US, etc.) are giving increasingly no shit about what the people who elected them actually want. And then they get surprised with a sudden raise of right-wing extremist parties.

So we are living in a global economy.
Big companies shift their production to Asia and their headquarters to Ireland (tax haven within the EU).
They don't pay any tax, destroy local/regional labour.

But it is the common citizen who buys a stupid Chinese gadget for less than 20 Euro, that needs to be taxed?

 :palm:

Why not implement a global abolition on customs?
Why not abolish VAT, one of the most injust taxes there is? Remember that poor people pay as much VAT as rich people!
There should only be one single tax: a fixed percentage on the income. Period. If you make 100 Euro/month, you pay x%. If you make 10.000 Euro/month, you pay the same x%. Eliminate all the remaining tax laws and save on the whole finance ministry, which becomes obsolete. Every citizen needs to contribute with SOMETHING. Even those that are poor. And a fixed percentage already makes the richer pay more than the poor.

So, in my opinion: screw customs, VAT and present goverements!

Sorry for the rage.

Vitor
madires:
The problem is that the Chinese sellers note a value of US$ 1 on the customs declaration form to avoid VAT, despite the real value often exceeds the limit for VAT free imports. It's tax fraud, but a win-win situation for seller and buyer.
Bicurico:
I have had my share of experience with Portuguese customs and I can tell you they are everything BUT stupid. They know exactly what these Chinese products are worth, they don't care for the sellers note of value and the standard practice is that the buyer needs to send proof of payment to customs, with a signed statement that all declarations are correct.

The problem is that once your package is flagged for check, you can easily add another 4 weeks minimum until you can lay your hands on it.
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