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J Anstey





Joined: 21 Jul 2007

Posts: 233

PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 9:22 am    Post subject: Sword Buying and Tax from USA         Reply with quote

Hi there

I am hoping someone might be able to advise me on this question.

When purchasing a sword from a business in the US, and it to be exported to an overseas country, is there a sales tax, GST or VAT type domestic tax included in the retail price that should be deducted from the price for export?

For instance - as a business in Australia almost all products have a GST (goods and services tax) of 10% added. If, I as a business sell an item to be exported I don't charge the 10%.

Having said that when I purchase from overseas I am liable to pay 10% duty as GST to the Government. (if customs see that the value is over a certain amount) this happened recently - I paid a full retail price online the same dollar value as a resident would, and also had to pay 10% of the purchase price at my end. Is this double dipping or do I assume that a list price from a vendor in the US is the same for export as it is for domestic?

Thanks

Jason
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Michael S. Rivet





Joined: 12 Apr 2006

Posts: 101

PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 9:55 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

U.S. states and local governments charge a sales tax (varies from place to place) for domestic purchases. Most vendors do not include that it the list price, but rather add it on at time of purchase if it applies, so the list price does not usually include the sales tax.

But, of course, there are exceptions.
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Lin Robinson




Location: NC
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PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 10:20 am    Post subject: Re: Sword Buying and Tax from USA         Reply with quote

J Anstey wrote:
Hi there

I am hoping someone might be able to advise me on this question.

When purchasing a sword from a business in the US, and it to be exported to an overseas country, is there a sales tax, GST or VAT type domestic tax included in the retail price that should be deducted from the price for export?

For instance - as a business in Australia almost all products have a GST (goods and services tax) of 10% added. If, I as a business sell an item to be exported I don't charge the 10%.

Having said that when I purchase from overseas I am liable to pay 10% duty as GST to the Government. (if customs see that the value is over a certain amount) this happened recently - I paid a full retail price online the same dollar value as a resident would, and also had to pay 10% of the purchase price at my end. Is this double dipping or do I assume that a list price from a vendor in the US is the same for export as it is for domestic?

Thanks

Jason


Jason....

I think you are asking if there is VAT or GST in the US. The answer to that question is no there is not. You should only have to pay the listed price plus shipping. State sales taxes are not collected for overseas sales. Import duties are another matter and that will depend on where you live and how your government treats direct imports.

Lin Robinson

"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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Victor R.




Location: Klein, Texas
Joined: 28 Jan 2008
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Posts: 347

PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 10:45 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Just so happens that I'm presently the Director of Tax for a US corporation, and spent most of my formative years in public accounting (Price Waterhouse, mostly) as a state tax consultant - even taught a masters level state tax course at a local college when I lived in St. Louis. Not trying to impress anyone (my guess is most people are thinking "oh God! a tax geek!" about now - I know I am Laughing Out Loud ), just want to let you know that my answer won't be speculative. Big Grin

While most US states have a sales/use tax, it only applies to purchases of taxable goods and services within, or purchased elsewhere for use within, the jurisdiction seeking to tax.

Sales to a person in a non-US location are exempt from tax by law. Even sales from a vendor in one state to a customer in another state can go untaxed if the vendor does not have a business presence in the other state. In such circumstances, the vendor has no obligation to collect the taxes of the other state, and the non-resident state cannot force the issue. Why? Because the US Supreme Court says so! Cool (As an aside, the purchaser must theoretically self-assess and remit the tax due in their state, but individuals usually do not do this.)

If you were to come to the US and buy an otherwise taxable item within the US, you would pay tax, regardless of citizenship (since the "first use" of the item purchased occurs within the jurisdiction seeking to tax), and we really don't have a refund system for tax on items being taken out of the US subsequent to purchase similar to the VAT refunds you find throughout Europe. Best bet is, if you find something you like over here, arrange for shipping to the non-US location and save the tax; then again, the tax may be cheaper than the shipping . . .

To satisfy any of my tax-geek colleagues that might be reading this and going "but what about . . .", I freely acknowledge that a lot of this is a pretty simplified break-down of the rules - I just don't want to bore with too much excess tax-geek speak. Razz

Bottom line: if you're in Australia (it was Australia, wasn't it?) and ordering a sword or somesuch from a US vendor for shipment to you in Australia, no US state/local sales/use tax will apply.

Sorry for any keyboard imprints on the foreheads of those that dropped off while reading this, and, oh yeah, don't forget to wipe up that little bit of sleep-drool . . . Big Grin

Victor


Last edited by Victor R. on Tue 15 Apr, 2008 12:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Sam Haverkamp
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Location: Pacific Northwest
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PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 11:32 am    Post subject: The tax man         Reply with quote

Victor,
Nice we have an expert among us, thanks for the info. So If I understand you correctly there is no state taxes upon export, but what about customs taxes. I am planning to export armour pieces to the UK. They have a 17.5 percent import tax which I will have to pay (God save the queen from being buried under stacks of cash:-) . (I will actually be consigning the pieces with a London Retailer so i'm not sure if there is a loophole there)
So do you know if there will be additional taxes due to the Feds (USA) as an export tax?
Thanks Much
Sam
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David Evans




Location: Rotherham, West Riding
Joined: 09 Sep 2004

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PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 11:47 am    Post subject: Re: The tax man         Reply with quote

Sam Haverkamp wrote:
Victor,
Nice we have an expert among us, thanks for the info. So If I understand you correctly there is no state taxes upon export, but what about customs taxes. I am planning to export armour pieces to the UK. They have a 17.5 percent import tax which I will have to pay (God save the queen from being buried under stacks of cash:-) . (I will actually be consigning the pieces with a London Retailer so i'm not sure if there is a loophole there)
So do you know if there will be additional taxes due to the Feds (USA) as an export tax?
Thanks Much
Sam


Try Here

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebA...mport_Home

Have fun !
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Lee O'Hagan




Location: Northamptonshire,England
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Likes: 6 pages

Posts: 529

PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 11:54 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Sam,
These are worth an email,
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebA...mport_Home

consigment sales,you may be able to defer the taxes due till sold,if you ship the stuff as samples,more paperwork your end,
also the person receiving the items if a business will pay the vat and be able to reclaim at year end,
the above link will give you all the actuall stuff you want,generally ok people on email return,
17.5% goes to the Guv coffers,and generally another 5-7% gets included too,charges etc,
But,so far using fed ex and private couriers they dont charge the extra 5-7%,at most a one off paperwork charge of about £3.00,super cheap,
main advice would be take the best insurance available,more so if it's a big ticket item-s.

Jason,
stuff i've purchased overseas has never had a tax value attached,
taxed only when it hits the UK,
least you guys get the nice weather,

lol,
i type too slow,


Last edited by Lee O'Hagan on Tue 15 Apr, 2008 11:57 am; edited 1 time in total
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Lin Robinson




Location: NC
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PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 11:56 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Victor R. wrote:

Sorry for any keyboard imprints on the foreheads of those that dropped off while reading this, and, oh yeah, don't forget to wipe up that little bit of sleep-drool . . . Big Grin

Victor


Thanks for the boring, yet timely information.

Taxes, if there were any, would be a very small concern for Jay compared to the shipping costs from the US to Australia. I recently sent a fairly large, but light, item to Australia and the shipping was $200!

Lin Robinson

"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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Victor R.




Location: Klein, Texas
Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Reading list: 4 books

Posts: 347

PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 12:00 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Sam,

Unfortunately, my expertise lies in the area of US federal income tax and the various and sundry forms of US state and local taxation - customs duties and what the Queen will do to you are a bit beyond my comfort zone. I know about the VAT refund mainly because I got one on my one and only (to date) trip to Italy.

What I can say with reasonable comfort is that import duties will likely still be due on a sale to a retailer. I'm vaguely aware that certain exemptions may apply in the case of materials to be incorporated into other products when making sales to a manufacturer or when goods are more or less "just passing through," but these likely do not apply otherwise - think of the case of an auto manufacturer selling a car overseas: since the car is basically a complete unit (tinted windows and floormats "for a small additional fee" notwithstanding Wink ), it is subjected to import duties unless a tax treaty (think NAFTA) or another exemption applies (e.g., sales to the government/military).

Don't know if that helps or just creates more questions and confusion (some old consulting tricks are hard to unlearn Razz Laughing Out Loud ).

If you plan to do much export work, I suggest finding a CPA or attorney that does this type of thing pretty exclusively. They're out there - and they ain't exactly cheap - but they can be well worth their cost to avoid having your goods tied up in customs, confiscated or anything else bad and evil that can happen when you screw with a government's revenue stream. Your shipping agent can probably give you some recommendations.

Best of luck.

Victor

Looks like you got some pretty good advice while I was typing. I do recall hearing about that deferral bit for consignments - might be a good way to go. -VMR
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Taylor Ellis




PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 5:20 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Buying from the US and importing to Australia you'll pay the listed price of the product, a hefty shipping fee, a customs fee (anything from $50 to $200) and 10% of the total as GST. Balancing this though, is the fact that the Aussie dollar is at a 20 year high against the US dollar... Happy
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J Anstey





Joined: 21 Jul 2007

Posts: 233

PostPosted: Tue 15 Apr, 2008 5:38 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thanks very much to everyone for answering my questions so thoroughly!!!

Much appreciated.

Cheers

JAson
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Sam Haverkamp
Industry Professional



Location: Pacific Northwest
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PostPosted: Thu 17 Apr, 2008 9:53 am    Post subject: Nice         Reply with quote

I agree,
Thanks much for all the informed advise. It appears the path from here to London is a tricky one. I need to work out some details before moving forward.
S
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