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Can you just buy from another European country and import? German customs are pretty rubbish at catching such things from my understanding. AFAIK you only get s

Can you just buy from another European country and import? German customs are pretty rubbish at catching such things from my understanding. AFAIK you only get screwed on retail purchases.

daliusd 14y ago
Some other European countries are doing the same stupid thing so it might be not an option. E.g. in my country computer price will increase about 7 euros because of that, USB keys and similar devices will be about 20% more expensive.
rmc 14y ago
Can you just buy from another European country and import? Yes that's one of the fundamental reasons for setting up the European Union. A Single Market.
- nickik 14y ago
  I really like the idea of the EU, a single market no more protectionism and other simular idotic shit. In reallity the EU is just another layer of stupid regulations and now we get protectionism and interventionsim on EU level too. Im happy that Im not in the EU (Switzerland) but I belive only getting the good stuff from the EU (open borders ...) will get harder and harder with the EU becomming more like a country.
  - rmc 14y ago
    I don't think there's much "stupid regulation", mostly just actual regulation (which can be a good thing). (There's more to say here, but it gets into politics, which is not good to have on HN)
    - nickik 14y ago
      Going into a huge disscusion on interventionsim is not my intend but let me just make a stament. Thinking that the waterhead burocarcy in brussel is serving the people at large with there interventions is idialistic at best. The EU is very undemocratic and has been put in place over peoples heads.
  - mtts 14y ago
    And the great thing is that your country, being entirely surrounded by EU countries, has no choice but to implement all those "stupid regulations" as well as it won't be able to do business with its neighbours otherwise.
    - nickik 14y ago
      Not sure why this is a great thing. Yes it has to do that to some regard but it can not be forced to and we still hold democratic control over the most importend of these things. Joining the EU would be spitting on the democratic system that Switzerland has built up over the last 200+ years.
      - freehunter 14y ago
        "Great thing" is sarcasm.
lawn 14y ago
I'm from Sweden and we have a similar tax. I used to import from Germany but now I need to find a new source.

Can you just buy from another European country and import? German customs are pretty rubbish at catching such things from my understanding. AFAIK you only get screwed on retail purchases.

daliusd 14y ago

Some other European countries are doing the same stupid thing so it might be not an option. E.g. in my country computer price will increase about 7 euros because of that, USB keys and similar devices will be about 20% more expensive.

rmc 14y ago

Can you just buy from another European country and import? Yes that's one of the fundamental reasons for setting up the European Union. A Single Market.

nickik 14y ago
I really like the idea of the EU, a single market no more protectionism and other simular idotic shit. In reallity the EU is just another layer of stupid regulations and now we get protectionism and interventionsim on EU level too. Im happy that Im not in the EU (Switzerland) but I belive only getting the good stuff from the EU (open borders ...) will get harder and harder with the EU becomming more like a country.
- rmc 14y ago
  I don't think there's much "stupid regulation", mostly just actual regulation (which can be a good thing). (There's more to say here, but it gets into politics, which is not good to have on HN)
  - nickik 14y ago
    Going into a huge disscusion on interventionsim is not my intend but let me just make a stament. Thinking that the waterhead burocarcy in brussel is serving the people at large with there interventions is idialistic at best. The EU is very undemocratic and has been put in place over peoples heads.
- mtts 14y ago
  And the great thing is that your country, being entirely surrounded by EU countries, has no choice but to implement all those "stupid regulations" as well as it won't be able to do business with its neighbours otherwise.
  - nickik 14y ago
    Not sure why this is a great thing. Yes it has to do that to some regard but it can not be forced to and we still hold democratic control over the most importend of these things. Joining the EU would be spitting on the democratic system that Switzerland has built up over the last 200+ years.
    - freehunter 14y ago
      "Great thing" is sarcasm.

lawn 14y ago

I'm from Sweden and we have a similar tax. I used to import from Germany but now I need to find a new source.