Because of the tsunami, there are all sorts of aid agencies here who are trying to help out and many of them shipped goods into the country. The government is insisting they pay import duty, taxes, and VAT on the resale value of the products. Some of the aid agencies have refused to pay on the grounds that it’s relief goods, going directly to the victims of the tsunami, and why should they? The government has held their containers – a total of about a hundred – until all the taxes and whatnot have been paid. Which didn’t happen. So they were given a deadline, which passed, so the government opened all the containers and held public auctions.
Yep, that’s right. The government confiscated and sold all the goods these relief agencies brought into the country for the benefit of the victims of the tsunami, and sold it, thereby padding government coffers.
Am I the only one who has a problem with this?
I’ve also spoken to some of the LDS charities missionaries here, and I’ve been told that the only way they could bring goods into the country without paying duty, import taxes, and VAT was to donate the goods directly to the government and hope that the government used or distributed the goods properly.
Talk about corruption. @#$@#!!!!
