Canadian ordering from the USA, the TAX man got me.

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pipebender

Lurker
Aug 16, 2015
9
0
I ordered 178grams of tobacco from Smokingpipes and got hit with taxes today. I was under the impression 200grams and under was tax and duty free?

 
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
No, only if you have been away at least 48 hours and bring it across the border on your person.
It is true though that if you keep your orders at 200grams or less there is a high likelihood that it will come through without taxes, but there are no guarantees and sometimes the customs folks get bored and are looking to have a little fun. Unfortunately the ugly hand of fate stopped on your number this time.

 

seacaptain

Lifer
Apr 24, 2015
1,829
7
This is so upsetting. Infuriating, more precisely. What's happened to us as a humanity?
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
― C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology (Making of Modern Theology)

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
Great quote, but:
Well, could it be mostly low level bureaucrats doing their jobs? Except the part that some taxes are to "prevent" us from enjoying a "vice" by making it more expensive and thus saving us from ourselves.

 

mrenglish

Lifer
Dec 25, 2010
2,220
72
Columbus, Ohio
A friend of mine, his wife ordered about $50 from a merchant here and it was nabbed by customs. She ended up paying $198 for her order once it was all said and done.

 

davet

Lifer
May 9, 2015
3,815
330
Estey's Bridge N.B Canada
sometimes the customs folks get bored and are looking to have a little fun
The one time I claimed tobacco at the border they brought me inside to pay duty/taxes on two tins. After at least half an hour trying to figure it out they charged me $24, then proceeded to go all through my truck looking for more tobacco, or illegal aliens/terrorists.

 

okiescout

Lifer
Jan 27, 2013
1,530
6
The "Nanny State" is alive and well in the USA and Canada, but is voraciously focused on our brothers in Europe as well.
I relax knowing big brother is so interested in my well being.
I cannot remember which of the founders here in States said it, but to paraphrase him: a government that can provide everything you need is also capable of taking everything you have.

These are wise words to think on as we move forward in all the various countries.
Most freedoms are given up by populations that have been convinced it is in their own best interest to give up said freedoms (permanently) in order to survive a temporary crisis. :crazy:

One mans opinion.

 

dustmite

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 5, 2015
262
0
@ okiescout: Thomas Jefferson is credited with the quote. Almost like he had a crystal ball looking at today's world, huh?

 

juanruiz

Lurker
Aug 19, 2015
25
0
Having lived near the Canadian border for decades and having made numerous trips up there, I was always shocked at the prices for tobacco and liquor, not to mention the combined 14% tax for the GST and PST. But, it's got a relatively small population and a yen for many expensive social programs. Imagine the taxes if it had to rely solely on its military for protection.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
@Perique- Unfortunately, onerous taxation is nothing new in history. I certainly don't support idiotic levels of taxation, but we do tend to look at the "good old days" through rose colored glasses. For many years here in the States, taxation may have been more reasonable. Go back a few years more, and you have a revolution in which excessive taxation was a key issue. Go back a few years more, look at some of the tax regimes imposed by "royalty" (the mere concept of which turns my thouroughly democratized American stomach!). The feudal European times were rife with unfair tax burdens on the peasantry. Even today, in certain parts of the world, citizens are taxed more heavily because they subscribe to the wrong religion. It seems to be somewhat cyclical, and sadly, the United States is entering the wrong end of the cycle right now.

 

davet

Lifer
May 9, 2015
3,815
330
Estey's Bridge N.B Canada
Do we allow Canadians in the US for 48 hours?
Your Border Patrol doesn't seem to like it but we are allowed across. A business owner in Houlton Maine told me that it would be a ghost town if it wasn't for us Canadians coming over to shop but they treat you like an invasion of illegal immigrants or terrorists trying to sneak in.

 
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