And yet another Gato....!

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Yikes.

Ain't socialism great?! I'm not laughing at you, I'm with you -- my country is running head long into a welfare State situation too, where the Eater's rule the Workers through the whore-like politician's.

Our countries have gone crazy!

David

[Nige1912]

Tell me about it.....
Its not helped with statements like the one on the letter that says " DO NOT contact us (Their capitals) to question this notification as we will not engage in any discussions regarding this notice"......
SO it's pay up with no questions asked or we send your parcel back - and here was I living my life blissfully thinking that extortion and intimidation was a crime only carried out by criminals!!!!!!!!!

Oh wait....................its the British Government im talking about.........they ARE criminals.......

[Nige1912]

Hi David,
Apparently its to do with the stated value of the item on the customs paperwork. Any packages coming into the UK over a set value attract a special "Import tax" (Bear this in mind for any future exports to the UK!!!)

I dont think its anything to do with security issues - it's just yet another way the greedy C**K S*****G B******S at Westminister have come up with to extract yet more money out of joe public.

I have 20 days to decide to pay up (Something which on principal I am loathe to do) or the parcel gets returned to you.

The only way you can get round it is to fill in the paperwork with an extremely low value - something under $50 and lable it as a "Gift".

Dont know what to do yet - im too bloody annoyed and angry to thin kstraight just now.......

David,
A germ of an idea is beginning to form in my brain......can you tell me what the postage cost was for the dive module to my address here in the UK please?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

I can't, but Mr. Caswell may be in a position too, Nige.

Mike?

David

[Kazzer]

Hi everyone,
Just when I was beginning to get worried that my dive module had gone astray, I get a letter from UK Customs and Excise department stating that my dive module has been impounded and I need to pay an extra £69.00 to have it delivered!!!!
GOD I AM SO BLOODY MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AH! I don't know, but I would imagine that the VAT office is involved. They are probably charging you VAT on the product. I don't have the Caswell invoice handy, but lets assume it was $500, which is approximately £325.00 I THINK the current VAT rate is 20%, so 325 x 20/100 = £65.00. You know you have to pay VAT on anything you buy, so this should be no surprise.

VAT is Value Added Tax - in Canada it's GST Goods & Services Tax. Gawd knows what it's called in Australia, Germany, France, Spain and the rest of the civilised world.

It replaces all the BS tax systems that used to exist in these countries, all except the USA,who doggedly cling to the nonsense they call a tax system. Different counties in the same state collect different rates of tax. Some States don't collect any tax at all - like Florida, but they are few and far between. The US system encourages folks to collect cash and not declare their sales, driving a huge underworld economy. These are the same people who ***** and moan that their schools don't get enough funding, or their bridges are falling down.

Most US politicians have absolutely NO IDEA how VAT works, yet they scorn it as yet another tax to burden their constituents with. If only they had taken the time to understand it, they would realise it would solve all their problems and increase their revenue.

Here's how.

1. The Chinese have figured out that no sales tax is collected when they mail product directly into the USA from China. So more and more Chinese companies are flooding the USA market with stuff sent cheaply via their EMS mail system. US companies are required to collect the tax, but Chinese are not. We lose billions of dollars tax revenue because of this loophole.

2. Out of state purchases via the Internet do not, in the main attract your state's sales tax, at least the state selling the product isn't responsible for collecting another states tax, so folks go out of state to buy large ticket items.

VAT works very simply.

1. You, the seller, buys a product for $100, and pay (say) 10% VAT on the purchase, totalling $110
2. You then sell the procuct and add value to it, making is sell for $200. You charge VAT = $20, so collect $220
3. You complete your VAT tax return showing $100 +10. in purchases, and $200+ 20.00 in sales.
4. The Tax Return shows you made a net gain of $10 in VAT and so you send the $10 to the Tax office.

If you haven't registered your business and don't have a VAT account, they everything you buy will have the VAT added to the bill, which you have to pay. As you can't send in a return, there is no way you can offset the tax, so get tax gets paid and you roll it into the job. Moral of the story here, register your business and be legitimate or it will cost you.

So, all those moonlighters avoiding tax have now been eliminated, folks have to keep proper records. VAT officers can smell a rat or a fiddle a mile off.

As for Mr. Merriman's rambling regarding 'socialism' etc. VAT has nothing to do with any of that. The USA is in really deep trouble financially, thanks mainly to an irresponsible Bush administration. The tax system here is completely broken, no one even understands it any more. China is raping us, moonlighting prevails, and we are at an impasse in Congress.

If the USA were to implement a 20% VAT system, like the rest of the civilised world, we could bale ourselves out of this mess, and once the USA does that, the rest of the world's economy would rebound.

But the idiots we have to deal with couldn't agree on anything, so it won't happen. Thank your lucky stars you have VAT Nige. It could be worse - like us here.

[Kazzer]

Hi David,
Apparently its to do with the stated value of the item on the customs paperwork. Any packages coming into the UK over a set value

The only way you can get round it is to fill in the paperwork with an extremely low value - something under $50 and lable it as a "Gift".
.

This is illegal and Caswell Inc always fills in export documents with the correct values. VAT officers are aware of this type of scam, and do random checks. Vendors and recipients can find themselves in a pile of trouble. Once our company has been flagged by Customs & Excise, every order we ship to the UK would be held up and scrutinised.

[Nige1912]

Thanks for the information guys - it's been enlightening. Looks like im stuck then and am going to have to be shafted by Customs and Excise if I want to get my hands on my dive module...
I dont deal well with bureaucracy at the best of times, red tape is something i DETEST with absolute passion, so you can imagine how I feel about THIS!!!!

Will keep you posted.....

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

As Mike explained, we're stuck on this end -- we need to conform to our governments postal rules or suffer countless, expensive delays.

This is yet another example of how better we all are served in the competitive market-place, and what we must suffer when a thoughtless, careless, and empowered bureaucracy has the helm.

Yet some people in this country of mine want MORE government involvement in our lives!?.....

David

[Kazzer]

As Mike explained, we're stuck on this end -- we need to conform to our governments postal rules or suffer countless, expensive delays.

This is yet another example of how better we all are served in the competitive market-place, and what we must suffer when a thoughtless, careless, and empowered bureaucracy has the helm.

Yet some people in this country of mine want MORE government involvement in our lives!?.....

David

I had to chuckle at the comment "thoughtless, careless, and empowered bureaucracy has the helm". Just so you know, they have a right wing government currently, and I believe their policies aren't working too well.

Taxation is what pay for your military, and your pension. It also pays for the roads your drive on and the schools you send your grand-daughter to. Without taxation, nothing would get done.
My point is that you know darned well this tax is applied on ALL purchases, no exceptions. There is no free ride in the rest of the world that uses this excellent system. Why should anyone get away without paying their fair share? It has nothing to do with bureaucracy or 'socialism' as some would try to imply.

Lets look at this another way.

I send the Sub-driver to the UK via my Caswell distributor. He pays the VAT on entry to the UK. He then adds his percentage (profit) and then sells it to you. Guess what! He's adding VAT. You've not been shafted, you just haven't grasped the fact that you pay VAT on everything you buy.

The only thing wrong with the system is the rate is hiked by successive politicians as they try to promote their pet project. The trick is to vote the buggers out and make your voice heard. Get the rate reduced - 20% is too high.

[Nige1912]

I had to chuckle at the comment "thoughtless, careless, and empowered bureaucracy has the helm". Just so you know, they have a right wing government currently, and I believe their policies aren't working too well.

Taxation is what pay for your military, and your pension. It also pays for the roads your drive on and the schools you send your grand-daughter to. Without taxation, nothing would get done.
My point is that you know darned well this tax is applied on ALL purchases, no exceptions. There is no free ride in the rest of the world that uses this excellent system. Why should anyone get away without paying their fair share? It has nothing to do with bureaucracy or 'socialism' as some would try to imply.

Lets look at this another way.

I send the Sub-driver to the UK via my Caswell distributor. He pays the VAT on entry to the UK. He then adds his percentage (profit) and then sells it to you. Guess what! He's adding VAT. You've not been shafted, you just haven't grasped the fact that you pay VAT on everything you buy.

The only thing wrong with the system is the rate is hiked by successive politicians as they try to promote their pet project. The trick is to vote the buggers out and make your voice heard. Get the rate reduced - 20% is too high.

Hi
Its nice to see someone elses take on the UK tax system. There are a few things I would like to add though.

The 20% VAT rate does not pay for roads, we have to pay an extra tax again to drive our cars on those roads. Called the "Road Fund Licence". And the bigger the car you drive - the more you pay. Currently for anything over about 1600cc engine size its well over £200 per year. (Current exchange rates $ 307.640).

And guess what - slowly TOLL roads are now creeping in, so they want us to pay TWICE. Do we get a rebate on our road tax if we pay to use the toll road ? Of course we bloody dont!

Let me ask you this, how would you guys like to pay $2.15 per litre (NOT gallon) of gasoline? This is what we pay here, now. And 70% of that price is government taxation......

Also the VAT does NOT pay for pensions - again we pay EXTRA for this in yet another tax called National Insurance. This is automatically deducted from a persons salary - no say about weather you want to stay in the scheme or not. If you decided for example that you wanted to pay into a private pension provider or healthcare provider like BUPA, thats fine - but you will STILL have money deducted from your salary, no opt out, no consultation nothing.

VAT also DOES NOT cover such essentials as Police/Fire Brigade/Military/Refuse collection. WE PAY AGAIN with yet another tax called COUNCIL TAX. And this is a totally arbitrary amount based on regulations over 90 years old! One house could pay £800 per year and the house next door could be paying £1200!!!!! Although Westminister will try and convince people that the 20% VAT hike was necessary - it would not have been necessary if the damn banks that got us into this mess had been let go to the wall just like any other failed business.

We used to have a massive chain of stores in the UK called Woolworths. This chain went under when the credit crunch hit. They employed nationwide over 45,000 people - all of who were thrown out of work. Another chain called Do It All (a DIY chain) went under just last year - another 33,000 people out of a job - all because the damn banks that got themselves into this bloody mess, and who ultimately control any government, have the clout to grab Billions of pounds of tax payers money to bail themselves out.

I have not noticed any government bail out schemes coming forward to keep major employers like the two mentioned above alive.......

Even essential institutions such as Air sea rescue - unbelievably in this country these are NOT government funded. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution who are the guys that rescue you when your boat's engine seizes up or the craft sinks, these are all UNPAID volunteers who work for an agency that is ENTIRELY funded by public donations - they get NOTHING from Government at all.

In some ways the UK tax system, as you point out, is a good system - certainly when compared to the current situation you mention is the norm in the states.
But it is a long, long, long way from being perfect or even fair for all.

Dont anyone be deluded into thinking that the UK - more specifically England, Wales and Northern Ireland (As Scotland is now moving towards full Independence and good luck to them), is a true democracy. What we have in this country is a semi-benign dictatorship. It does not matter which party you vote in at the elections, because behind all of these parties looms big business. As soon as Mr X gets voted in as Prime Minister, the business interests start calling the shots on what he will and will not do during his term.

This is NOT democracy.

Give him a soapbox! He's on his favorite


It's not like me to rant on about anything - but this really gets my goat.
I hope I have not offended anyone or ruffled any feathers - that certainly is not my intention and If I have I sincerely apologise. And I suppose we are now so far off topic that we are in some other country!!!!! Lol

Cheers Guys,
Nige

[Kazzer]

Hi
Its nice to see someone elses take on the UK tax system. There are a few things I would like to add though.

The 20% VAT rate does not pay for roads, we have to pay an extra tax again to drive our cars on those roads. Called the "Road Fund Licence". And the bigger the car you drive - the more you pay. Currently for anything over about 1600cc engine size its well over £200 per year. (Current exchange rates $ 307.640).


Nige

I was referring to Mr. Merriman's situation. His Navy Pension and his US situation, not the UK.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

No problem at all Nige. Good stuff. Informative. And you totally ****ed off Mr. Caswell. Life is good!

David

[Nige1912]

Lol well i hope i havent ****ed off anyone! That certainly wasnt my intention. But like they say knowledge is power and now that knowledge has been passed on, you guys and anyone else reading this thread have the power!!!The Titanic

[Kazzer]

Lol well i hope i haven't ****ed off anyone! That certainly wasnt my intention. But like they say knowledge is power and now that knowledge has been passed on, you guys and anyone else reading this thread have the power!!!The Titanic

Don't take any notice of him Nige! He's trying to spin it over onto me, when it was all HIS fault! (We need more nasty smilies on this forum.) Send it your favorites folks - they annoy HWSNBN intensely.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

GRrrrrrrrrr!!!.........