A Taxing Issue

(Akron/Tyre Review – Ottawa Sun) Even a fresh set of tyres couldn’t help Steven Patzer steer clear of the taxman. The Ottawa-area engineer learned just how far the reach of federal tax collectors can extend recently when he bought a set of used tyres on eBay. The Houston, Tex., seller warned Patzer that shipping the tyres directly to Canada’s capital would run him $160 US on tyres that cost him only $225 US. Instead, Patzer had his Michelins sent to Watertown, N.Y., which is a 90-minute drive from his Kanata home, for almost half the cost.

Returning to Canada, Patzer was charged GST and PST on the shipping costs in addition to the tyres’ value. When he asked why the Canadian government would tax him for mailing something from one U.S. state to another, Patzer was left scratching his head.

“They said it was a service that I was essentially conveniencing myself,” he recalled. “I think it’s a bit of an injustice.”

The result was a $50 tax bill.

“This is an absurd decision,” said the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s John Williamson. “I didn’t know the Parliament of Canada had the authority to tax U.S. mail.” Canada Border Services Agency spokesman Chris Kealey said the decision to tax both the value of the tyres and the shipping can be made if there is difficulty separating the shipment charge from the actual value of the product.