Living on the U.S.-Canada border, the car runs out of gas and crosses the border to the United States and Canada, and by the way, I go to Costco in the United States and go to the duty-free shop...... This operation is common in Canada, for example, residents of White Rock and South Surrey cross the border to Bellingham and other border cities in the United States from time to time.
Even though the dollar-Canadian dollar exchange rate is no longer 1:1, savvy border residents still find that the total cost of gas and shopping in the United States is lower than in the United States, and they are happy to do so. What, come back and be taxed? How is it possible?
However, seemingly impossible things have happened frequently in recent days, which has also made the media begin to pay attention:
Some Canadians said, "I was inexplicably charged fuel tax when I returned to Canada" — a discussion group based in Abbotsford, where many residents entered the U.S. via the southern Sumas border to refuel and shop, and then returned with a tax.
Some puzzled people directly asked the customs, "Why do you want to pay taxes?" but the customs replied very strongly: "This is the regulation". Considering that the fuel tax is not an astronomical amount, and the authority of the customs cannot be shaken, many people can only pay the tax obediently, but they are angry and feel that they have been "slaughtered".
In fact, the group of people who were taxed couldn't ask why, so they had to turn to the media and hope to interview the Canada Border Services Agency.
If you don't keep the receipts and conceal them, you may be able to pay taxes
Canada Customs says that if you drive out of the country for less than 24 hours, there is no tax exemption – although the reality is that even if you go to the U.S. and buy something on the same day, as long as you report it truthfully, customs will generally not embarrass you.
However, people know that they should truthfully report what they buy, but they ignore that "gasoline is also something to buy". In an interview with Daily Hive, the Canada Border Services Agency made it clear that "gasoline is shopping, and many people go to refuel, but only come back after saying goodbye for lunch." ”
Border officials already know very well what the purpose of the short crossing is, so if you're going to refuel, say so, and be sure to state how much money you spent on refueling.
There is a situation where people who pay customs duties spend $100 on gas, but falsely claim to have only added $30 to fuel, only to be asked by border officials to show a fuel receipt or credit card deduction record, and the result is exposed. A fine was imposed for "concealment of the value of the goods".
Fines aren't significant: up to 55% of the total value, which means you add $100 to gas and pay $55 in customs duties – it's better to be honest in Canada.
Wine cigarettes are exempt from duty, but petrol is not
In addition, the CBSA individual exemption document does mention that if you buy a small amount of wine and cigarettes without a tax exemption, it can indeed be exempted from taxes. However, there is no mention of gasoline in the document.
The rules seem reasonable, but some Canadians living at the border think: "This is telling us not to go to the United States to refuel and buy things, but to stay in the local area and bear the high prices and make so-called contributions to the local economy." ”
Complaining is complaining, but it is true that he concealed the report first, and he can't complain about the border officer, and he can only blame himself for his bad luck, and the behavior of going to the United States to refuel is too "high-profile", and it is easy to be caught by the border officer.
In fact, if you search for Canadian drivers on the Internet to go to the United States to refuel and come back to pay taxes, you will find that it has not only happened recently, but has happened in the past ten years, but the frequency is very low and has not caused heated discussions.
It is easier to pay taxes when it is carried with oil drums
The above situation is indeed not uncommon, but the vast majority of people can basically avoid paying taxes as long as they are honest. However, there is one situation that should never be tried: bring an extra barrel of oil and bring an extra barrel of oil back to Canada, or even multiple barrels of oil.
The CBSA regulations explicitly prohibit "adding more gas to the manufacturer's normal tank capacity", which means that it is forbidden to bring additional tanks to fill up and then return to Canada. Not to mention that gasoline is not on the list of exempted goods, even if it is, two extra barrels of oil means that the value is about $200, and the probability of a round-trip tax on the same day is also very high.
Besides, if you're carrying two large oil drums, the target is too obvious to hide, and you can't hide it even if you want to. In this case, the full amount of the duty is generally paid. The end result, of course, is "it's better to save money by refueling in Canada".
However, there is one exemption: non-residents visiting Canada can bring fuel to power their ships in the U.S. and inform them of the length of their stay in Canada.
Go to the U.S. now to refuel and save money?
As we all know, the price of gasoline in the past month has soared, and the average price of gasoline in No. 87 at noon on April 17 was $208.9 per hectoliter.
What about the United States? Lynden, the closest to Abbotsford, costs $4.39 per gallon, one gallon = 3.78 liters, which is $1.16 per liter. Factoring in the exchange rate, the price per hectoliter is $159.65.
It can be seen that cross-border refueling can save 20~25% of gasoline costs. If you live close enough to the border, such as only 5~10 kilometers, then the fuel cost incurred is negligible. If you have a large displacement and a large fuel tank, you can save even more.
Going to the United States to refuel is obviously to save money, but remember to be honest and don't think that cross-border refueling is impossible to collect taxes, because there are so many lessons from the past......