Friday, June 18th 2021
EU Changes VAT Rules for Imported Products; Everything to be Taxed Independent of Value
European Union residents are now looking at paying even more tax - in even more products - than before. Following changes to the EU tax policy, all products imported from outside that special political, economic and frontier union will be subject to the appropriate tax according to its nature. Until now, imports of value (or should we say declared value) lower than €22 were free from the bureaucratic and economic burden of taxation; however, that situation is about to change come July 1st.
Following abuses to that €22 declared value exemption, all imported products from July 1st 2021 will be subject to customs processing and taxation. The decision follows years of abuse, with customers and businesses declaring false, lower values for products so as to try and skirt any additional taxation. Of course, this creates a lopsided, uphill battle for EU-based manufacturers and distributors, who have to collect the appropriate tax upon all sales - whilst businesses outside the EU enjoyed more competitive pricing due to the absence of tax for the final customer. That is what this change aims to fight against. A shame for users and businesses that did follow the rules, who now face more higher pricing for small acquisitions at the expense of those who employed these tax evasion practices.
Source:
World Customs Organization
Following abuses to that €22 declared value exemption, all imported products from July 1st 2021 will be subject to customs processing and taxation. The decision follows years of abuse, with customers and businesses declaring false, lower values for products so as to try and skirt any additional taxation. Of course, this creates a lopsided, uphill battle for EU-based manufacturers and distributors, who have to collect the appropriate tax upon all sales - whilst businesses outside the EU enjoyed more competitive pricing due to the absence of tax for the final customer. That is what this change aims to fight against. A shame for users and businesses that did follow the rules, who now face more higher pricing for small acquisitions at the expense of those who employed these tax evasion practices.
65 Comments on EU Changes VAT Rules for Imported Products; Everything to be Taxed Independent of Value
In fact, it is progressive, as food is taxed at a reduced rate, and often pharmaceuticals and books are, too. As far as I can check, it isn't much different in the US, but sales tax rates are much lower there.
Edit: There's at least one valid argument against reduced rates: that's how food and drug industry gets subsidised, not only the consumers.I can't argue with that, but why should only low-value imports from China, of all things, be left untaxed?
Edit: and even if those low-value imports accumulate to, say, a couple hundred €€€ every month?
(Not to mention that China subsidises shipping to other parts of the world, but miraculously, not from the other parts of the world to them.)I only have my anecdotal evidence, here it is:
2005: Asics GT 2100 running shoes, 115 EUR, made in China, good quality
2007: Asics GT 2120 running shoes, 125 EUR, made in China, good quality
2009: Asics GT 2140 running shoes, made in China, good quality
2010: Salomon hiking shoes, 80 EUR, made in Vietnam, fell apart soon (everything)
2012: Asics GT 2170 running shoes, 130 EUR, made in Vietnam, fell apart soon (mesh and heel padding)
Guess what I looked for when buying my next sports shoes.
Regarding second part: when you send something back - you are paying your local parcel service - that's who you should complain to regarding costs. Govt.-owned postal services are generally cheaper(in some cases on-par with China Post). For example a simple envelope or small documents package to Zone2 (NA, China, Mongolia) through Ukrposhta costs around $7-8. Same package through third-party will run as high as $50. I'm not even gonna mention FedEx, DHL and UPS, cause these guys have been so far up their asses for the past decade(at least regarding international deliveries), that you can't even make fun of their prices and quality of service.
EU or China is irrelevant for the final price. They'll both cost the same if the product+shipping costs the same.