IP: Some things may be improving, but the old games remain

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 18:08:07 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Gerald Maguire <maguire () it kth se>


An interesting thing happened while in transit at Schipol, while in
transit from one plane to the next - I got stopped by dutch customs
and had to pay duty on the laptop I bought in NY (for my students to
use starting tomorrow). The dutch customs insisted that I had to pay
import duty to the EU and dutch VAT on the computer. Not only did they
charge this on the computer, but they included the NY State sales tax
as part of the "value" for computing the import duty and then included
this duty in the amount for computing VAT!!! They ask me why I did not
declare it - I said I'm just in transit to Sweden, but they said that
I had entered the EU in the Netherlands. I did not see any customs
line that I crossed and never left the controlled area as I went from
one plane to another.


When I ask Swedish customs about it they said that they had heard that
the dutch were doing this, but this is the only place that they have
heard of transit passengers being stopped and charged local VAT. The
swedish customs officer said that I paid a lower tax rate in the
Netherlands than I would have in Sweden, but I pointed out that in
Sweden the state would take it and then pay it back to me - since
machine is for the university, and I saw no reason that the dutch
should be keeping the tax money.


This reminded me of the "speed" traps that some southern towns put up
along the routes to Florida - just to make revenue from those passing
through. It is also an interesting concept that one can have a tax on
a tax on a tax. [Which reminds me of a swedish opera which has a scene
about a tax on laughter (this sounds much funnier in Swedish).]


Although I had little choice but to pay, I'm going to fight. I'm
trying to think of which news groups to put this on. I figure that if
I start warning people and can shift some people away from transit in
Schipol, that the loss in revenues will perhaps change their attitude.


This is the same type of foolishness that is taking place with those
governments trying to assert local sovereignty on network
traffic. There is already at least one US state that is trying to
apply state laws (including transaction taxes, service taxes, etc.) to
internet traffic. Meanwhile another advertises that it does not and
will not apply such taxes to those who operated from their state - as
they want businesses to move into their state.


Chip