AfterDawn: News

Import duty on large LCD screens in EU

The European Union plans to add a 14% import duty onto imported LCD monitors. This action will lead to a huge hike in prices. It applies to any screen over 19" in size and applies to monitors that are not produced in the EU, which is the majority of monitors imported. Philips, for example, manufactures most of its LCD monitors in the Far East. Dutch trade organisation ICT Office believes the tariff will cost its members millions.

The Netherlands last year became the first EU state to impose a 14% tax on DVI screens as a result of an EU directive signed in 2004. The Dutch State Secretary of Finance then decided that LCD screens classified solely as a computer monitor would have to be taxed also. ICT Office says that the EU tariff conflicts with the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). It states that levies would not be encouraged through future trade agreements.



Source:
The Register

Written by: James Delahunty @ 9 Jan 2006 21:03

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• 23 comments

• WarForOil

  Another disgraceful taxation on the ordinary people of the european union by those impostering futile ignorant self important egotistic politicians in strasbourg.Greatthinking all the same, lets go digital and change television for ever, we will stock the shops with new lcd televisions leaving little choice for the consumer, then on whats left to buy we will impose a 14%tax, thats crackers.Furthermore why in sets above 19", is that just in case they impose a tax on the size of there 1q, anyone with an iq over 10 will be taxed, well they wont collect much revenue there, c.mon consumers fight back and oppose this taxation, lobby your mp.

  10.1.2006 01:37 #1

• p4_tt

  Yea more tax to go with the already rip off VAT, people are not going to able to afford LCD's because of this crap.
  
  
  The EU Says Jump we all ask how high

  10.1.2006 07:51 #2

• sobhy2406

  damn vat and damn tax suck

  10.1.2006 08:03 #3

• sobhy2406

  [imghttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/14/14_6_16.gif" border=0>

  10.1.2006 08:07 #4

• pevelius

  good. regular people only need (emphasis on "need", not "want") 19" or smaller screens and companies and elite can afford extra tax. i don´t see how this can be a bad thing.

  10.1.2006 11:10 #5

• p4_tt

  People should be able to buy whatever size they want without the EU telling them they want 14% Not everyone can afford to fork out extra cash and it is very bad because they start with LCDs then they move onto other stuff while increasing the tax each year.

  10.1.2006 12:04 #6

• clonedawg

  This tariff doesn't help anyone except for the EU monitor buisiness and the government's pocketbook. The consumer loses out big time in this case, with prices of foreign monitors spiking there is a loss of the competition which would normally drive prices down and quality up. In other words, as a result of this tariff, the citizens of the EU will recieve a worse product for more.

  10.1.2006 13:10 #7

• domie

  I´m a tad confused ny this....it includes LCD televisions or only PC monitors ? because if it is only PC monitors, then it isn't going to affect many people.

  10.1.2006 13:52 #8

• HALTRON

  Another GODDAMN tax... that's it i'm moving to America.

  10.1.2006 16:39 #9

• PirateDan

  Dudes that really sucks, but it goes to show you that stupidity is International.
  

  10.1.2006 19:05 #10

• dubire

  There is a bigger picture here the eu is trying to stop outsourcing of manufacturing to non eu countries and by imposing a 14% tax it is hopping to out way the saving companies can get by cheap labour and other cheap costs
  
  But I have felt that these people in the high power positions in the eu don’t understand life on the ground level they do what they think is best for some (business) and not for other (the people)
  
  
  Also a question has to be raised if this tax does go ahead where will the money collected be spent. I’m sure it will just be wasted on projects like the euro fighter
  

  10.1.2006 23:11 #11

• S2K

  Although I am against tarrifs generally, I would like to point out that in the US it has been established in several court cases that Chinese companies (read chinese government) was heavily dumping subsidized televisions and LCDs into the U.S. market.

  11.1.2006 03:54 #12

• sugarray

  14 % is a massive hike.If you pay €2000 for a LCD TV, then thats another 280 euro on top of the price!!!!LCD TVs are already way too expensive in europe

  11.1.2006 06:02 #13

• kersmere

  EC-------- AS BEEN A PROBLEM FROM ITS CONCEPT
  RUN BY BUSINESS MEMBERS OF THE ELETE CLUB LIKE THE HELLFIRE CLUB IN THE 16 AND 17 TH CENTURY ITS STILL
  HERE NOW JUST RELOCATED ITS SELF THES TAXES ARE NOT FOR US LOWER PAID WORKERS IN THIS COUNTRY A A FEW OTHERS WHAT---TAX---AGAIN .TELL ME WHAT CAN WE DO TO HAVE OUR SAY AND THE CHANCE TO VOTE OR VETO THESE
  LAWS THAT ARE BEING MADE
  WHERE HAS THE ENGLISHMAN GONE. ALL YAP AND NO BOUNCE THESE DAYS THATS WHAT I FIND WHEN IVE BEEN ABROAD ON HOLIDAY
  ITS TIME WE HAD A BIT OF CONCIDERATION AND RESPECT FROM OUR PARTNERS IN CRIME THE EC TOOOOO

  11.1.2006 09:04 #14

• spisfam

  I am originaly from england and now live in the USA. At least here you have a vote on when the taxes go on, how much and for how long. In england tony blair and his cronies do it over night and if his cabinate argue they are out the door. What I would like to know is where is all this money going, what with high gas prices and vat on everything you can almost think of. And as I heard once the euro mp's if you could call them that some of them were caught putting false expense claims in and making a fortune, to me they are legalised extortionist above the law sitting on there huge butts falling asleep at the meetings with a total disregard for the people of there countries, pocketing as much of your hard earned money as they can.
  spisfam

  13.1.2006 06:14 #15

• slaytera

  Has nothing to do with "ordinary people" as one poster put it, one who I suspect has socialist leanings.
  At any rate, it's another protectionist tax by European leaders seeking to keep both foreign products, influence and culture out of Europe.
  Europe's leaders are, for the most part, a bunch of snobbish, racist, weak, communist bigots.
  Have fun with your riots France!

  13.1.2006 10:35 #16

• slaytera

  "Regular people" I meant to say.

  13.1.2006 10:35 #17

• m_towell

  Hmm - the EU sounded good in theory when it was about to start up, but now that it's in place, they appear to have too much power.
  
  They have no idea what's happening on the ground and don't see that what they're doing, in the long run, is going to damage the economy of all of Europe.

  13.1.2006 12:06 #18

• wagnerbr

  that´s is not bad at all for europe ... consider that Brazil and most of latin america countries have import taxes between 50% to 70% for all sizes .. this for EU is only for screens bigger than 19 inches .... also as somebody said before , that if someone can afford EUR 2000 , 280 more is almost nothing .. here we need to continue saving extra money for these expensive toys ....

  13.1.2006 15:38 #19

• wagnerbr

  just an example of Brazil , a Samsung 50 in. DLP Tv costs something USD 3500 in USA , but in Brazil in a local store is something like USD 12000 to USD 15000. We must consider the huge profit that the importer makes ... another 100% of profit on top of the import tax....

  13.1.2006 15:40 #20

• connectr

  Talk about a mis-directed effort. An LCD monitor is made up of a LCD panel, a backlight (flourescent tube), a case with or without power supply and some minor interface electronics.
  The big three LCD panel makers (LG, Samsung, AUO) own approx 85% marketshare, worldwide. Panels are made in Korea, China and Taiwan mostly, with some minor production in Japan, Thailand, etc. So the EU gets nothing here.
  Flourescent tubes are made everywhere including Hungary, the Netherlands and Spain in the EU.
  
  Cases are molded just about everywhere labor and chemicals are cheap enough (Eastern Europe, China, India, Mexico, Brazil, etc).
  
  Assembly is usually close to the sale, because you try not to have too much transportation cost added. Since it is done mstly by machine, labour is relatively low.
  
  So what this really means is that the EU is trying to kill LCD televisions becuase somebody likes projection sets (DLP and similar) or plasma panels.
  
  Of course Phillips is number one in plasma and they are from the Netherlands ..... you don't suppose that has anything to do with it do you?
  
  Follow the money .......

  13.1.2006 19:47 #21

• urbstfren

  I don't get it. This is what Europe wanted right? The French, Germans, Brits etc. felt they had to unite to stop the USA! So what did you do, you created an entirely NEW level of bureaucrats who seem to answer to no one. Where is the 14% going to go? Down the socialist rat hole!! Give all those Muslims MORE welfare.
  
  Now I'm not saying we (Americans) are perfect in this regard. We pay taxes (Sales taxes) on much of what WE buy. As much as 8% (Florida is only 6%) then If you earn over around $US200,000.00 They get as much as 32% Income taxes!
  
  However since Ronald Reagan was our President we are not imposing tariffs as a protectionist or revenue source. As was already pointed out we had to get heavy with China, but truth be known if a country wants to sell us stuff cheap I say BUY IT. Read some of Milton Freedman's stuff (Noble prize for Economics). If a country, ANY country wants to subsidize a product, lets say steel, meaning of course they divert money from other projects in order to keep the unions happy and working GREAT! We just move our steel makers into something else. So we get twice as much steel for the same money, and we take our people and move them into making IC's.
  
  These protectionist moves cost EVERYONE, but only benefit the very few who are, in this case, making CRT's. Listen if it were up to the unions we would still have 50,000 people making buggy whips,lol. But capitalism said NO!!! There is no profit. So now we have 50 people making buggy whips, and 49,950 making tires. Neither of which is being subsidized by the government, the bunch who produce NOTHING and simply take money from productive people and give it to the stupid and lazy. Communism was NEVER even close to being as efficient as Capitalism. No one can sit and decide how many widgets will be sold in the next five years, but Capitalism brings people in when there is a profit to be made, and moves them out when there is no more profit.
  
  The EU has twice the unemployment as the USA, half the economic growth as the USA not because we are smarter or harder working, but rather because government has far less influence here as it does in Europe.
  
  So go ahead you frogs and dump on the USA, because we will be sitting watching our HD Big screen TVs while the Towel heads burn Paris down,LOL.

  14.1.2006 12:32 #22

• WarForOil

  Reading the post about sales tax in the U.S, currently 8% 7% in Florida, well thats nothing compared with what the electorates pay here in the uk.Currently we pay 17.5% on everything with only childrens clothes and food produce, thats if the food isnt warm, you can buy something from a shop and if u ask them to stick it in the microwave it now fast food so vat is added to the cost.Gets worse they are now considering taxing fatty foods, cakes etc whick can lead to obesity, now that is the icing on the cake.Recently i spoke to some American tourists who were here in Scotland ona holiday,they couldnt understand why everything was so expensive, they were shocked that we pay £4 for a gallon of petrol almost 3 times as much as they pay back home, they were here for a month but were considering cutting there visist short due to not getting value for there dollar.In truth we no longer live in a democracy where ordinary citizens can go about there lives without some official throwing another silly policy in your face that costs more money.The average wage here is about £200 a week yet politicians fail to understand this.This country has went to the dogs and has been in steady decline overa number of years, sadly new Labour has only speeded this up somewhat.Im a socilaist by nature but we no longer have a voice in our own country and the european parly is just another tier of beurocrats imposing more taxes and legislation to keep the working man down.I say we should lobby your local mps to have your voice heard, its the only way forward in getting some of our power back or we will all be living in a fascist state shortly, laugh now and scourn but look how far we have come in only a few years to living in a police state and every other day theres new legislation to further impose restrictions that prevent you from living a normal life even if you live within the guidelines of the law.

  16.1.2006 01:45 #23