I can't understand how many times an item can be taxed when it's used to begin with .
Being a proud Canadian that I am ( really) we get shafted BIG time on imports and are taxed beyond belief. Anything over $50.00 used or not. If you travel and stay over a period of 48 hours or so ( see below) you can spend a bit more.,
On imported items it usually contains a "handling charge" with the Postal system ( carriers like Fed Ex and UPS use a Broker and they REALLY nail us on fees!) as well that in the long run, all adds up to 15% added to the cost of goods. Ok, we have universal "health care" but unless you are literally bleeding to death, take a number. Emergency ward waits can be 12-24 hours, elective surgery months to years, and so on.
As has been said, the items I ( we buy hobby related) buy are usually vintage and have been taxed at least once when they were new, then depending on how many more times it's been sold, well that's just a tax grab. We have a .65 dollar compared to the U.S. dollar, so they convert the U.S. value to Canadian funds before they calculate the hit. So if I but something for $100.00 U.S. funds, it's calculated on $135.00 Cdn. It's hard to get off the hamster wheel of madness!
Free trade? Not for the little guy. If you ever travel to Canada, most of it is beautiful, but gasoline, booze, and food are at least 25-50% higher in most cases than the U.S. . Sure, I get it. We are WAY smaller. There are more people in the state of California that all of Canada. We are usually friendly and easy going. Some of us are not too sharp, like the Oil and Gas companies that ship unrefined petroleum south to get refined, then we pay the piper at the pump. Makes me thirsty just talking about it!
Returning to Canada
24-48 hours in the U.S.:
- $200 CAD worth of goods per person
- Excludes alcohol and tobacco - these are subject to duties and taxes
48+ hours in the U.S.:
- $800 CAD worth of goods per person
- 1.14 litres (40 ounces) of liquor OR 1 case of beer (24x355ml cans/bottles) OR 1.5 litres of wine
- Plus 200 cigarettes (1 carton); 50 cigars; 200 tobacco sticks and 200 grams of manufactured tobacco