Rolling through the border on new wheels/tires to avoid taxes?
 

I ordered a bunch of parts in the USA and had them shipped to Blaine WA for pick up. One of the major parts is a set of 19" BBS wheels, wheels that I would not like to pay taxes on if possible lol.

I was initially thinking of installing the wheels/tires and rolling through the border with my old wheels in the car and claiming that I bought used wheels.

But being that the new wheels are on the same invoice as a pile of other parts.. It's likely I will need to produce a invoice for everything or face some pretty hard scrutiny from the customs agents (I would think?).

On the invoice they list the wheels as "BMW Wheel package $xxxx", the package is just the 4 wheels... but who is to say the package doesn't inculde rubber! So I bought some tires from discount tire in Bellingham and was thinking that I could mount them on the wheels and just play it like the tires were included in the price of the "BMW WHeel Package".

Any thoughts? I have a total of about 7k in parts to bring over and I really don't want to pay taxes and duties on all of it lol.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing your stories about previously escaping paying the customs agents using your ninja like talents.

And since everyone hates a thread with no pictures, here is the car;

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...bo/photo-1.jpg

Don't do it.

Blows me away how people can spend $7k on car parts and then try and save change by risking being fined/blacklisted over something that they are legally supposed to pay anyway.

You live in a country/province where we are taxed to the gills. It sucks, yes, I'd love to not pay as well. But if that's what it costs to be able to live here, then suck it up and just pay, please.

/rant

why did you order it all at once? maybe next time get them in stages and make a few 2day trips to the US

7k is a lot you should just pay the taxes

Yes I know we are supposed to pay taxes, thank Dad.

How is it possible that every time I have sold a car here, the buyer has asked me to gift it to them lol. I thought people here were down with ducking the tax man... guess not.

I didn't ask if it was okay, I am curious to know what others have gotten away with in the past... thanks for chiming in you bunch of "do-gooders".

Just cause I have 7k to spend on parts doesn't mean I want to spend another 1k filling up the coffee machines of bureaucrats in Ottawa.

Probably have to make two trips anyway unless I borrow someones truck, there is no way it will fit in the car otherwise lol.

Make sure you bring the lube of your choice for when they pull out those rubber gloves to see what else you have hidden.......

I don't know a single soul who has gotten away with something like this.

You asked for advice on how to cheat the system. Morality issues aside, the only way is the one you mentioned. Just try to "roll through."

There was some foreign exchange student who tried this a while ago, and they deported him.

Just sayin'.

Try it.

Let us know how it worked out

I'm sure most of us want to shaft the tax man, but you're not directly dealing with a government agency when selling a car privately.

Attempting something like this at a border crossing? You must be one hell of a risk taker!

If you get away with it, you'll save a few hundred bucks.

If you get caught, you will be blacklisted, detained, searched, fined, and taxed. You will also be hassled every single time you cross the border in the future.

Not worth it, man...

Just pay the taxes lol it's definitely not worth the risk.

After seeing your progression in the stock market thread, this will be chump change :)

I've actually paid full tax on every vehicle I've bought in the past, just sayin :)

Personally yes I know of at least a few cases where people have gotten away with it. But I've heard of at least one being caught (they noticed the tires looked really new and stopped to check), and bad shit happens if they catch you. They'll give you crap and hold you up every time you go across the border for years afterwards. Not worth it imo.

i declared $4000 of wheels when i came across the border a few years back and they just waved me through. pretty sure that was a 1 in a million chance though lol

This isn't a myth either, they gave my dad shit for years just because one of our fucking relatives stowed a bag of fruit they bought and didn't declare it, and somehow my dad had to take responsibility for this. They stop him every time now and check through the vehicle, every damn time. When I go through the border without him they always just wave me by.

Think about how much this is going to suck lol

Finally some good input, thx to everone who didn't give me the "parents talk".

Im not exactly a risk averse individual lol

Here's an idea that you might might considering trying when you cross the border:

Perhaps you can pick up your new wheels during the next long weekend, the Canada day weekend. You can buy other things besides the wheels such as groceries in order to maximize your time in the United States.

When you buy more items, you'll have a bigger pile of receipts to carry with you. The bigger pile of receipts may be the key to getting back to Canada without paying the taxes. Why?

The border line up during the long weekend, especially the first summer long weekend with Canada Day, should be a very long wait. Carry that big pile of receipts with you and show it to the border agent who may be more tired than usual with the long day of talking to drivers.

That big pile of receipts might just make the agent go through the routine list of questions quickly because he/she doesn't want to deal with all the work of catching one person evading taxes.

I've tried using a big pile of receipts from buying electronics, groceries, and household items before on a border agent during a long weekend trip to Seattle. The agent didn't question the purchases or search my vehicle. It worked!

This tactic will test your patience, but it worked for me. -didn't pay taxes for the electronics that I bought despite being way over the 24 hour limit. -spent just over $1000 on electronics, and groceries.

Are you asking about paying the Duty - taxes - or both?

Depending on where the parts are made, they may be exempt from duty.

I think it would be suspetise if you had new wheels on your ride and old ones in the back. That would surely be a red flag for an inspector. Even the new tire smell is a give away.

Only thing I suggest is to take your car picture down. Your car might have already been flagged if CBSA comes across this thread.

you do know someone can tip of Canada Customs and when they see your car you will get fucked right?

smart thinking posting a picture of your car

Oh I'm sure Canada Customs is going to hang a picture of my car on the corkboard right beside Luca Rocco Magnottas pciture. It's especially helpful that you can't see the license plate, or god forbid I could take another vehicle.

Yes you can tip off customs, but if you think that the scenario you propose is very likely, you clearly are not very familiar with our "clumsy" legal system. It's not exactly Canada Customs number one concern that a pair of tires make it into the country without being declared... and not everyone working at Canada Customs is going to be an automotive sherlock holmes. If they were smart they wouldnt be working for the Govt, that's almost an absolute :)

Again thanks to all the morons who contributed nothing to this thread beyond a whole lot of stating the obvious. I know what I am doing is a very frowned upon method of tax avoidance, I know that everything could possibly be seized by Canada Customs. I know that by doing this, the Harper Govt. will be forced to tailor back their selection of fine flavoured coffees.

This is funny to me because of the Point Roberts Gas thread, nobody got hated on there for not declaring the Gas in their tanks.

Blow me haters.

As soon as I read the title, I predicted the fails.

Publicly, you would swear everyone was a nun here, but privately, I'm sure quite a few are in a different position when its their money.

That said, I would be more likely to just load the car to the tits on a long weekend rather than try to pull a fast one. I had new tires mounted in the states and just went for it, but I was young and stupid. Now, I don't feel like clenching that tight on my way through the line to save a couple of dollars.

Can you pick up your parts in stage?
What if you went with your buddies? and each of you guys pick up some stuff?
Can you request an "invoice for tax purposes" from the seller? say to 1.5k - so you can pay lower amount of taxes?

I got caught doing this before. even trying to make "fake invoices". I got away first couple times but it bit me in the ass lets just say that. Hard to not pay taxes with 7k worth of items. Pay taxes or lose your shit