I hope we can agree on the following statements.
1) The most fair trade of all is free trade. All fair trade is free, and vice-versa. If a certain industry or product line gets an exemption, the trade is no longer "fair".
2) Protecting industries from foreign competition merely rewards industry owners. The net harm to purchasers is greater than the net gain by fat cats and their employees.
3) Congress gets itself elected by selling exemptions to the tax code. Some of these are to reward contributors, while others are put in place to punish competitors. Many of these exemptions can still be found, long after the originalbribes contributions were paid, lingering around in the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Nobody remembers why hamster wheels have a different import tariff rate than coffin handles. You could turn a team of librarians loose in the Congressional Record for years, and they would fail to discover why javelins and jump ropes enter the country at different tax rates.
Go here and behold some of the tiny subdivisions that these Civil Service Lifers have invented to keep themselves busy and their contributors happy. Can you imagine any rational excuse for Canadian sundials and Canadian birdbaths to be taxed at a different rate?
This is just one of the hundreds of thousands of queries and rulings that government trolls, hobbits, pygmies and elves churn out every day. Enjoy. And then lobby for a flat tariff. 1.5% should work nicely. Think of the labor savings. First person to lobby for an exemption gets crucified on the 50 yard line during the next Super Bowl halftime.
******
December 3, 1993
CLA-2-83:S:N:N3:113 892510
CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION
TARIFF NO.: 8306.29.0000; 9403.20.0010
Ms. Patricia A. Bielaski
Tower Group International, Inc.
128 Dearborn Street
Buffalo, NY 14207-3198
RE: The tariff classification of sundials, plant stands and birdbaths from Canada
Dear Ms. Bielaski:
In your letter dated November 16, 1993, on behalf of Metalcraft Spinning and Stamping, Ltd., you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise consists of painted aluminum articles on pedestal bases that will be displayed primarily on lawns and in gardens. Three samples were submitted with your request. One is a green sundial measuring approximately 21 inches high with an 11-inch diameter top and a 9-inch diameter base. The sundial is clearly ornamental in nature. The other two samples are plant stands which can be used inside or outside the home. They are designed to rest upon a floor or lawn, and meet the definition of furniture for classification purposes. One stand is green and the other is white. Both measure approximately 27 inches high with a 15 1/2-inch diameter top and a 12-inch diameter base. The plant stand can also function outdoors as a birdbath.
The applicable subheading for the sundial will be 8306.29.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for statuettes and other ornaments, of base metal. The rate of duty will be 5 percent ad valorem.
Goods classifiable under subheading 8306.29.0000, which have originated in the territory of Canada, will be entitled to a 2.5 rate of duty under the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) upon compliance with all applicable regulations.
The applicable subheading for the plant stand and birdbath will be 9403.20.0010, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other metal furniture, household. The rate of duty will be 4 percent ad valorem. Goods classifiable under subheading 9403.20.0010, HTS, which have originated in the territory of Canada, will be entitled to a free rate of duty under the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) upon compliance with all applicable regulations.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
Jean F. Maguire
Area Director
*******
We are paying people to interpret this shit.
Have a good weekend!!
1) The most fair trade of all is free trade. All fair trade is free, and vice-versa. If a certain industry or product line gets an exemption, the trade is no longer "fair".
2) Protecting industries from foreign competition merely rewards industry owners. The net harm to purchasers is greater than the net gain by fat cats and their employees.
3) Congress gets itself elected by selling exemptions to the tax code. Some of these are to reward contributors, while others are put in place to punish competitors. Many of these exemptions can still be found, long after the original
Go here and behold some of the tiny subdivisions that these Civil Service Lifers have invented to keep themselves busy and their contributors happy. Can you imagine any rational excuse for Canadian sundials and Canadian birdbaths to be taxed at a different rate?
This is just one of the hundreds of thousands of queries and rulings that government trolls, hobbits, pygmies and elves churn out every day. Enjoy. And then lobby for a flat tariff. 1.5% should work nicely. Think of the labor savings. First person to lobby for an exemption gets crucified on the 50 yard line during the next Super Bowl halftime.
******
December 3, 1993
CLA-2-83:S:N:N3:113 892510
CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION
TARIFF NO.: 8306.29.0000; 9403.20.0010
Ms. Patricia A. Bielaski
Tower Group International, Inc.
128 Dearborn Street
Buffalo, NY 14207-3198
RE: The tariff classification of sundials, plant stands and birdbaths from Canada
Dear Ms. Bielaski:
In your letter dated November 16, 1993, on behalf of Metalcraft Spinning and Stamping, Ltd., you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise consists of painted aluminum articles on pedestal bases that will be displayed primarily on lawns and in gardens. Three samples were submitted with your request. One is a green sundial measuring approximately 21 inches high with an 11-inch diameter top and a 9-inch diameter base. The sundial is clearly ornamental in nature. The other two samples are plant stands which can be used inside or outside the home. They are designed to rest upon a floor or lawn, and meet the definition of furniture for classification purposes. One stand is green and the other is white. Both measure approximately 27 inches high with a 15 1/2-inch diameter top and a 12-inch diameter base. The plant stand can also function outdoors as a birdbath.
The applicable subheading for the sundial will be 8306.29.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for statuettes and other ornaments, of base metal. The rate of duty will be 5 percent ad valorem.
Goods classifiable under subheading 8306.29.0000, which have originated in the territory of Canada, will be entitled to a 2.5 rate of duty under the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) upon compliance with all applicable regulations.
The applicable subheading for the plant stand and birdbath will be 9403.20.0010, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other metal furniture, household. The rate of duty will be 4 percent ad valorem. Goods classifiable under subheading 9403.20.0010, HTS, which have originated in the territory of Canada, will be entitled to a free rate of duty under the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) upon compliance with all applicable regulations.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
Jean F. Maguire
Area Director
*******
We are paying people to interpret this shit.
Have a good weekend!!
4 comments:
And beyond the cost to the taxpayer for the agencies that come up with this nonsense, businesses are forced to spend big money to staff entire departments of compliance personnel to ensure they don't run afoul of any of the government's ever-changing and arbitrary rules. You can imagine how much someone like me enjoyed my stint as Export Compliance Specialist.
And don't forget the ten-year legal battle to determine whether X-Men action figures were "toys" or "dolls". Dolls depict humans, toys depict non-humans, and the tariff rate for non-humans is 5.2% less than the tariff rate for humans.
Comrade,
Please send me some linkage on that issue. I'm slowly becoming a huge fan of this mess.
Check your e-mail.
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