"Americans not getting bang for buck in Europe"

Gregory Morrow wrote:

No. The US does not have VAT.

The only way I know of for foreigners to avoid USA taxes on goods is to
buy them at a duty free shop at a border or airport. The other way is
to buy from a USA mail-order firm and have it shipped. In most cases
there will be no tax added.

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 14:19:50 -0800, Go Fig wrote:

In article , Keith Anderson
wrote:

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 12:32:40 -0800, Go Fig wrote:

In article , Keith Anderson
wrote:

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 11:24:50 -0800, Go Fig wrote:

In article , Keith Anderson
wrote:

On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 18:10:55 -0000, "nick" wrote:


"Keith Anderson" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 09:29:59 -0600, Olivers

wrote:

Keith Anderson muttered....



Surprised you don't like the UK. It has a Prime Minister with his
head
right up a right-wing president's arse, who's a champion of global
corporatism, who's dismantling the welfare state and privatising
everything............no wonder there are a load of surly people
around.


....and you want to replace him with a Tory?

No

(or from the sentiments which flow from your keyboard, some
disenfranchised
former Eastern European bureaucrat with genuinely authoritarian
socialist
perspective)

I'd actually settle for a democratic socialist. I'm a big fan of Tony
Benn.

Socialism aint very democratic After all its the first stage of
communism, the final
stage being dictatorship.

OK, change the words to Social Democracy - I'll settle for that.
Served the UK pretty well from 1945 to the time Thatcher was elected.
Served other countries in Europe pretty well too.

Till the bill for years and years of foregone infrastructure investment
came due....

The day is yet to come where the privatisers invest in anything. At
the moment, all they're interested in doing is lining their fatcat
pockets.

Do you own a cell phone ?

Scraping the barrel, aren't you? Landlines (i/c fibre optic network)
laid down by BT when a public corporation. Meantime we've started to
get power cuts, the "competition" in gas is a joke (and now prices are
creeping up as they are with electricity)

Isn't that it, we don't want to pay the real costs for these things,
after years and years of meaty subsidies ?

Lol - the subsidies paid to the private rail operators are way above
what was paid to British Railways.

I seem to remember being told that privatisation leads to lower prices
- or maybe that's another one of the corporatist lies.

water prices are soon to
rise, Capita screws up the criminal records system, Jarvis cuts
corners on rail maintenance (and kills people) and constructs schools
that fall to bits in a couple of years (and bankrupts its
sub-contractors by not paying them) - and Railtrack made such a
balls-up of the rail infrastructure they've been replaced by Network
Rail - govt. owned and not for profit................. sure, we have
masts sprouting everywhere and an increase in inane loud--mouthed
conversations in public places.

Your "brave new world" is heartily detested by many in the UK. We
don't all swallow the corporatist horse****. Many of us have been
downsized, outsourced, de-skilled or had our ****ing jobs exported to
India.

Mxsmanic wrote:

Gregory Morrow writes:

No. The US does not have VAT.

Yes, it does, but the U.S. calls it sales tax or excise tax. It is
_far_ lower than the VAT in most of Europe, though.

But the U.S. does not have any NATIONAL sales tax! That is the
prerogative of the states. Not all of them have sales tax, the rates
and even the range of items taxed differ from state to state. In
California, food is exempt - but not restaurant food - and clothing is
taxable. Some states do not tax clothing OR food, some tax everything.
Figuring what refund foreign visitors were entitled to would be a
logistics nightmare, even given superlative computer programs (which I'm
sure we do not have). Then the question arises "Who should be eligible
for refund?" - if visitors from another country, why not visitors from
another state? (Especially from states who do not have sales tax?) I
question your "far lower" statement, Mix - parts of California now pay
8.75%, and it may well go up, given our horrendous state deficit and an
ex-body-builder for governor. There are other states with sales tax as
high, perhaps higher. What are the normal VAT rates?

Padraig Breathnach wrote:

(PJ O'Donovan) wrote:

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message ...

As are those of the right-wing bigots! (Ithought I'd put you in my
"kill-file" - how did you show up again?)

Typical left wing zealot. "Freedom of speech" applies only to the
disciples of
unworkable Marxist dogma while those who do not agree should be
demonized and gagged.

Freedom of speech does not mean that you have the right to be listened
to.

This asshole insists upon calling me a Marxist, despite the fact that I
come from a long line of Republicans, and only switched allegiance when
I realized what the "Grand Old Party" had become, and what it was doing
to the country! (Oh well, one must consider the source - what can you
expect of the brainwashed?)


--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

nick wrote:

"Keith Anderson" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 09:29:59 -0600, Olivers
wrote:

Keith Anderson muttered....



Surprised you don't like the UK. It has a Prime Minister with his head
right up a right-wing president's arse, who's a champion of global
corporatism, who's dismantling the welfare state and privatising
everything............no wonder there are a load of surly people
around.


....and you want to replace him with a Tory?

No

(or from the sentiments which flow from your keyboard, some disenfranchised
former Eastern European bureaucrat with genuinely authoritarian socialist
perspective)

I'd actually settle for a democratic socialist. I'm a big fan of Tony
Benn.

Socialism aint very democratic After all its the first stage of communism, the final
stage being dictatorship.

In PRACTICE (so far) but NOT in theory! "Communism", "Socialism",
"Capitalism" are economic systems; "dictatorship", like "monarchy" and
"democracy", refers to form of government. In theory you can have any
economic system under any form of government. (The fact it hasn't
happened that way, yet, doesn't mean it's not possible.) Anyway, the
governments of Europe don't seem to have become any less democratic for
providing such "horrors" as "socialized" medicine. (In point of fact,
some of them appear to be MORE democratic than the U.S., at present.)

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote:

Padraig Breathnach wrote:

(PJ O'Donovan) wrote:

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message ...

As are those of the right-wing bigots! (Ithought I'd put you in my
"kill-file" - how did you show up again?)

Typical left wing zealot. "Freedom of speech" applies only to the
disciples of
unworkable Marxist dogma while those who do not agree should be
demonized and gagged.

Freedom of speech does not mean that you have the right to be listened
to.

This asshole insists upon calling me a Marxist, despite the fact that I
come from a long line of Republicans, and only switched allegiance when
I realized what the "Grand Old Party" had become, and what it was doing
to the country! (Oh well, one must consider the source - what can you
expect of the brainwashed?)

You're listening to him!

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 16:36:00 -0800, "EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)"
wrote:

parts of California now pay
8.75%, and it may well go up, given our horrendous state deficit and an
ex-body-builder for governor

It may go up, as a tax increase for California is the stated goal of
the Democratic leadership (which holds an overwhelming majority) in
the state legislature. The "ex-body-builder governor" (Arnold
Schwarzenegger) is opposed to any tax increases.

Gordon

"PJ O'Donovan" wrote in message
om...

(SNIP)

This "logical mind" of yours that you
pontificate is not at all in evidence in
the continuing discharges of your political bias
here.

I'm really surprised that those words didn't leap
from your monitor and strike you blind. Talk
about the pot calling the kettle black! And she's
right about your being an asshole...

I'm a Marxist too. I liked Groucho best, but
Harpo was pretty funny.

Tom

Gordon Forbess wrote:
"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote:
parts of California now pay 8.75%, and it may well go up, given our
horrendous state deficit and an ex-body-builder for governor

It may go up, as a tax increase for California is the stated goal of
the Democratic leadership (which holds an overwhelming majority) in
the state legislature. The "ex-body-builder governor" (Arnold
Schwarzenegger) is opposed to any tax increases.

And George Bush is opposed to increasing the size of the federal governmnet.

miguel
--
Hundreds of travel photos from around the world: http://travel.u.nu/

Miles wrote:
The only way I know of for foreigners to avoid USA taxes on goods is to
buy them at a duty free shop at a border or airport. The other way is
to buy from a USA mail-order firm and have it shipped. In most cases
there will be no tax added.

One of these ways is generally a lot cheaper than the other (hint: it's the
second).

miguel
--
Hundreds of travel photos from around the world: http://travel.u.nu/