4 ms·

Imagine if people from dubai complained about having to pay import taxes to bring a few extra ferraris into the states, we would call them insane, yet a macbook

Imagine if people from dubai complained about having to pay import taxes to bring a few extra ferraris into the states, we would call them insane, yet a macbook is likely many months comfortable living in most of mexico.

zbrozek 3y ago
If they were then turning around and taking them back out after their stay, that seems like a perfectly reasonable complaint.
- codetrotter 3y ago
  Exactly. One is for work, and one for personal use. And both of them are coming with me when I leave. The value argument does not hold water to me. Why does the value of two laptops matter, but not the amount of money in my bank account? Why would I go the roundabout way of selling one of my laptops in Mexico, when I have money in my bank account that I can use directly. The whole system is weird. And it ends up unfairly punishing travellers. When they should be focusing on the big scale stuff.
  - JCharante 3y ago
    > Why would I go the roundabout way of selling one of my laptops in Mexico, when I have money in my bank account that I can use directly. Because you might be taking advantage of price differences between markets? iPhones are cheaper in Hong Kong than in Mainland China, so people smuggle them to collect the margin gained by avoiding tarifs https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/18/iphone-smuggler-china-hong-kong/ https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/18/iphone-smuggler-china-hong-ko...
    - codetrotter 3y ago
      Even if there was some price difference to take advantage of, the airline tickets I bought to go from Europe to Mexico are way more expensive than any sort of gain that would be worth the effort. Also, I don’t think European countries in general have particularly good prices at all. If I were to sell one of my MacBooks here I imagine it would actually be at a loss even before you consider the cost of dragging them half way around the world in the first place.
dxyms 3y ago
You don’t tourist travel with your ferrari. You import them and pay taxes. Not the same thing.
- speed_spread 3y ago
  > You don’t tourist travel with your ferrari. Says you. When you have a 747 as your personal station wagon, you might bring a few toys along.
  - mikeryan 3y ago
    Private aircraft have to clear customs too.
    - photonbeam 3y ago
      Sure but if you take cars back with you when you leave… just like a laptop
C4K3 3y ago
You don't have to pay import taxes to bring ferraris in if it's just temporary for a vacation. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_Convention_on_the_Temporary_Importation_of_Private_Road_Vehicles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_Convention_on_the_Temp...
PinguTS 3y ago
Normally, in any country of the world, you do not pay taxes on things, you import just temporary. I doesn't matter if it is an Ferrari just for pleasure or if it is a new machine you bring in for a trade show for your business. The thing is, that you need to make a customs declaration (and not the easy one that you normally do at the airport as a traveller). You do the full declaration including information for which reason you are importing, when you will export it again, including all the tax codes. Then when you leave you need to declare the export.

zbrozek 3y ago

If they were then turning around and taking them back out after their stay, that seems like a perfectly reasonable complaint.

codetrotter 3y ago
Exactly. One is for work, and one for personal use. And both of them are coming with me when I leave. The value argument does not hold water to me. Why does the value of two laptops matter, but not the amount of money in my bank account? Why would I go the roundabout way of selling one of my laptops in Mexico, when I have money in my bank account that I can use directly. The whole system is weird. And it ends up unfairly punishing travellers. When they should be focusing on the big scale stuff.
- JCharante 3y ago
  > Why would I go the roundabout way of selling one of my laptops in Mexico, when I have money in my bank account that I can use directly. Because you might be taking advantage of price differences between markets? iPhones are cheaper in Hong Kong than in Mainland China, so people smuggle them to collect the margin gained by avoiding tarifs https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/18/iphone-smuggler-china-hong-kong/ https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/18/iphone-smuggler-china-hong-ko...
  - codetrotter 3y ago
    Even if there was some price difference to take advantage of, the airline tickets I bought to go from Europe to Mexico are way more expensive than any sort of gain that would be worth the effort. Also, I don’t think European countries in general have particularly good prices at all. If I were to sell one of my MacBooks here I imagine it would actually be at a loss even before you consider the cost of dragging them half way around the world in the first place.

dxyms 3y ago

You don’t tourist travel with your ferrari. You import them and pay taxes. Not the same thing.

speed_spread 3y ago
> You don’t tourist travel with your ferrari. Says you. When you have a 747 as your personal station wagon, you might bring a few toys along.
- mikeryan 3y ago
  Private aircraft have to clear customs too.
  - photonbeam 3y ago
    Sure but if you take cars back with you when you leave… just like a laptop

C4K3 3y ago

You don't have to pay import taxes to bring ferraris in if it's just temporary for a vacation. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_Convention_on_the_Temporary_Importation_of_Private_Road_Vehicles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_Convention_on_the_Temp...

PinguTS 3y ago

Normally, in any country of the world, you do not pay taxes on things, you import just temporary. I doesn't matter if it is an Ferrari just for pleasure or if it is a new machine you bring in for a trade show for your business. The thing is, that you need to make a customs declaration (and not the easy one that you normally do at the airport as a traveller). You do the full declaration including information for which reason you are importing, when you will export it again, including all the tax codes. Then when you leave you need to declare the export.