Tax limit from New York...

malkie76

Spending £15k overseas on a creditcard would certainly arouse suspicion. Are you not grasping the point being raised here?

johnnyroper

malkie76 wrote: »

Spending £15k overseas on a creditcard would certainly arouse suspicion. Are you not grasping the point being raised here?

but would HMRC be monitoring the credit cards of every person to spend abroad to find out you have not declared items?


as for the economy suffering maybe if we were not ripped off by the retailers and gov in this country people would be more inclined to spend the money over here and not in places like NYC?

not a gift from NYC but an example non the less about rip off britain.

a rover car made in birmingham (when they existed) shipped to europe purchased by a brummie in say belgium and shipped back to birmingham was considerably less than visiting a rover dealer in longbridge.

Doshwaster

Lucy1973 wrote: »

But you need to have aroused suspition in the first place,which is highly unlikely.

Walk through customs carrying loads of Macy's bags and you are likely to be stopped. I travel to the US on business about 4 times a year and always do a lot of shopping there. I've never been stopped coming back into the UK. Just make sure that you discard all packaging - which makes you case lighter too anyway.

Oh, and if you are famous, don't get caught in the newspapers on a big shopping trip around New York. That's the kind of thing which tips off HMRC. They do love to read the celeb gossip column of The Sun.

cubegame

Surely the most important thing people are missing here is that's it's not 1995. UK/US prices pretty much parallel themselves nowadays.

$1 = £1 is a thing of the past. It was slightly worth it when it was $2 to the £, but not now!!

Any

malkie76 wrote: »

Not sure I follow you there. If you pay £400 for a flight, then spend £1000 getting £2000 of goods then you've 'saved' a net of £600. So, even only a single trip (using your example) you've saved a significant amount.

However, my point is that our economy suffers if you take your money and spend it in another country - we lose the custom and the tax generated by the sale, hence our economy suffers. That's why there is a limit, and for good reason.

You mean with the current exchange rate of 1.5$ to £1?
That doesn't make it £2k...

The prices are not costing in $ less then in £, most often it is the same/higher figure only with $ in front of it...

That is what I meant... Might have not explained myself properly.

Example:
Armani exchange top £35
In US $35-$40 = £23-£26

Doshwaster

cubegame wrote: »

Surely the most important thing people are missing here is that's it's not 1995. UK/US prices pretty much parallel themselves nowadays.

$1 = £1 is a thing of the past. It was slightly worth it when it was $2 to the £, but not now!!

While, it's not as good as it was a few years ago when is was $2 to the pound, the exchange rate is still pretty good now and like-for-like shopping can still be much cheaper in the US. I'm a pair of Levis bought in the US a few months ago for $35 - about 20 quid. They are more than twice that price here.

malkie76

but would HMRC be monitoring the credit cards of every person to spend abroad to find out you have not declared items?

I'm reasonably sure they do that. I doubt they check, rather than if you make some sizeable purchases that it triggers an alter in their system.

You mean with the current exchange rate of 1.5$ to £1?
That doesn't make it £2k...

No, I don't mean that - I was just extrapolating the example. You don't have to spend that much money in the US to cover the costs of your trip. It's not as easy as it used to be, but it depends what sort of items you are buying.

I consistently find the cost of quality diamonds (for example) far less in the US than in the UK.

Lucy1973

cubegame wrote: »

Surely the most important thing people are missing here is that's it's not 1995. UK/US prices pretty much parallel themselves nowadays.

$1 = £1 is a thing of the past. It was slightly worth it when it was $2 to the £, but not now!!

Yes but you're forgetting the fact that stuff is generally cheaper in the US compared to the UK.

phatbear

And something a lot of people are forgeting, as previously mentioned, this is the law its not a choice, what next not bothering with car insurance after all the your unlikely to get caught, as some of the toe rags round here could probably confirm.

There is of course a difference between going a tad over and taking the rise.

johnnyroper

phatbear wrote: »

There is of course a difference between going a tad over and taking the rise.

whilst i agree it is breaking the law i do think some common sense is required,some people who may be on a holiday of lifetime end up going over the limit slightly £500 maybe but then you get the people who blatantly take the p1ss so who should HMRC be going after???
i removed labels and packaging when i went but i did not take the p1ss i was over but not by loads also must add customs at LHR was like a ghost town when i arrived so not much chance of getting collared by them.

in reply to another post above are HMRC allowed to check credit card transactions without some form of permission??