http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex … 002:EN:PDF
From December 1st, 2008, the tax free limit is Euro 150.00 instead of Euro 22.00.
EU regulation 274/2008 (Article 1.3).
IT WAS TIME, I say!
Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~ \o/
I don’t even live in Europe, yet I can feel the joy of happiness this brings! :mrgreen:
Just out of insane curiosity, but is there a site anyone can point me to, that explains why such taxes exist in Europe?
When ordering oversea stuff in the US, I don’t pay fees like that… well… except on my income tax claims. 
I share this happiness and curiosity.
good news for people who like bad news!
The topic is VERY complex, but basically EU and (most) EU members need lots of tax money to support the welfare state monster :roll: 
…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_st … xpenditure
The specific tax is here:
I believe Welfare in nearly all the “First World” countries are broken, not just the US. Although if you watch Fox and CNN enough, they’d make you think only America has problems with Welfare.
Social Security was broken since Carter’s Administration - or rather it was broken during it. Of course we all know that the US Social Security program is going to crash unless something is done NOW to fix it… but time and time again that keeps getting put on the back burner: if it isn’t China, North Korea, Iraq or Iran - there’s always some stupid domestic thing keeping media attention away.
Quite frankly, there’s going to be no Welfare in my generation. All I have to say is this: I want my damn money back then. I don’t care how or why.
I hate politics.
But you still have to buy a lot of things to have those 22€ taxes fees.
… yeah in fact 3 games are enough.
Just order your stuff in HK. you never have to pay taxes when you order in this country (because the sellers in HK are good people who write “gift” on their boxes :)).
Just try to ask a japanese shops to not put their stickers “DO NOT FORGET TO TAXE THAT” :mrgreen:
I’d rather pay slightly higher taxes (and in many cases, surprisingly, it is only slightly higher or not at all… it’s mostly just in imports that you see a problem) and get public transportation and health care, personally. 
I hear things are worse in Italy though, so Baldo’s perspective is probably a lot different.
Yeah, Italian public transportation and health care are very costly if good or total crap if cheap (no middle ground, usually), and the postal service is not exception. If a uninsured import remains “caught” in the Italian taxation system, our elephantiac bureaucracy needs weeks before processing the mandatory paperwork :roll: .
And in the meanwhile, that poor import is frequently subject to physical abuse, if not outright theft, from our careless/carefree postal workers :evil: …
Bad idea. Here, ALL THE GOODS coming from an East (or South East) Asian country, most especially those with a “Gift” label attached, are automatically suspect, and require more paperwork :shock: .
In these last two years, the things have grown worse (and those in the EU still remembering the nice guy can imagine why 
), let’s see if the new government will change something (sunday and monday was election time for Italy -I’m a longtime poll worker-, and a few truly amazing things have happened -poor Italicus -).
The same goes here, but not so bad. Some stuff gets through, others get delayed. I just ordered some Popotan figurines and they took 3 weeks to get to me, but at the same time i ordered an import game and it took me 1 week. Both were not marked gift.
Bad news people it seems that someone got their wires crossed since what’s changing is the customs limit not the VAT/Excise limit.
:? :? :?
I don’t know, Article 27 of the original Regulation says “Any consignment dispatched to its consignee by letter or parcel post containing goods of a total value not exceeding 10 ECU shall be admitted free of import duties”, and the 2008 amendment, Article 3, in my initial post adds “The value limit of ECU 22 set out in Article 27 of Regulation (EEC) No 918/83 has not been increased since 1991, whereas at the same time customs duties have been significantly reduced or even abolished. Accordingly, it is appropriate to increase the value limit for consignments of negligible value”, but I’m NOT a lawyer or whatever 
…
I still hope your Link is wrong, however .