54% tax rate on a gift??? is this normal?

Morninglory · 2020-06-11T15:51:46+02:00

Discover if a 54% tax on imported gifts is normal in Belgium. Share experiences and tips to avoid high fees on personal items.

Morninglory Member

Member since 11 June 2020

MorningloryMember11 June 2020 13:51:46

I had my birthday recently, and my son tried to send me a tiny gift from the USA.聽
The total value of the gift was under one hundred USD.聽

I had been looking forward to it greatly, as it contained a birthday card from him and some pictures.

They tried to deliver it today, and wanted me to pay 47.27 euros!!
I don't keep cash in the house and so I couldn't pay that.聽聽They said I can pick it up later at the local post office.

But I want to know if anyone can tell me anything about this. Is it normal here to tax a gift?聽 And at a tax rate of over 50%?聽 (47.27 euros = $53.70)

Is there any way to clear that up, in your experiences, or am I stuck with either paying this ridiculous fee or losing my gift?

Thanks for any insight people can share.

pmichelazzo Contributor

Member since 20 December 2011

pmichelazzoContributor11 June 2020 14:10:26

139

Yes, it is.

You can calculate here:

fernandoks Active member

Member since 23 July 2019

fernandoksActive member15 June 2020 09:52:49

Morninglory wrote:
I had my birthday recently, and my son tried to send me a tiny gift from the USA.聽
The total value of the gift was under one hundred USD.聽

I had been looking forward to it greatly, as it contained a birthday card from him and some pictures.

They tried to deliver it today, and wanted me to pay 47.27 euros!!
I don't keep cash in the house and so I couldn't pay that.聽聽They said I can pick it up later at the local post office.

But I want to know if anyone can tell me anything about this. Is it normal here to tax a gift?聽 And at a tax rate of over 50%?聽 (47.27 euros = $53.70)

Is there any way to clear that up, in your experiences, or am I stuck with either paying this ridiculous fee or losing my gift?

Thanks for any insight people can share.

Yeah, it`s like you said, pay or pay.

The main problem there, is that wasn't a formal import, so they will consider maximum taxes.