Selling to the US. What happens? (1 Viewer)

[Chris PC]

I'm well aware of the major ding hit that we Canadians take for stuff we buy outside Canada and have sent to us here. Whether its from overseas or the US, not only do we have to pay our taxes on things, regardless of whether the item is new or used, but we often have to pay duties and extra courier costs. And yes, I'm aware of how some people avoid that, declaring this instead of that etc, but often that is very risky, regardless of the legal arguements.

Wondering how it works when Canadians sell stuff and ship it to American buyers. For example, what sort of situation is involved if I sell my AE100 projector, or some cables, a line doubler or DVD's to someone in the US. I can't recall what happens for you down there.

thanx for any feedback,

 

[Allan Jayne]

Yes I have had to pay duties on items (records) imported from Europe (to the U.S.). The U.S. does not charge duties on products originally made in the U.S. and "re-imported" from Canada or other countries, but paperwork still needs to be filled out. Except that very few home theater items are made in the U.S.

In the U.S. all states with sales taxes also require that residents purchasing goods from outside the state declare the purchase and pay a use tax which is at the same rate. The use tax is reduced if a sales tax was actually paid to a different state or country.

U.S. tourists driving back from Canada or Mexico (or returning from anywhere) must declare purchases made abroad and pay duties. So I expect that items ordered through the mail are also taxed.

In all my purchase transactions the seller took care of the paperwork and collected (charged me) the duties/taxes. Otherwise the item could be held at the border for the buyer to come and get. I expect that I would have to do the paperwork if I was selling something out of the U.S. However a U.S. seller is not obliged to collect state sales taxes in state to state transactions unless the seller has a store or office or warehouse etc. in the destination state.

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Chris PC]

Cool. Thats useful. Its annoying that we get charged tax on items when they "change hands". Makes no sense to me. An original buyer pays tax when they buy the unit. Anyways, thanx for the useful info.

Chris