rscheffler
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Upload & Sell: Off
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rancherpix wrote:
Is there any reason someone in Canada, especially if living on or near the border, cannot simply take a short trip to the U.S. and buy an R5 II?
That absolutely works, but there are also businesses on the US side of the border that receive and hold packages for Canadians who buy online from US retailers but don't or can't have them shipped to Canada for various reasons (such as the explanation already provided, or simply because some retailers will only ship domestically). I used to do this often, but then B&H started offering free shipping to Canada for orders over $99 and also collected Canadian VAT at the time of the order, which totally bypassed the pain of dealing with UPS and FedEx brokerage screwups, or declaring it as you crossed back if picking up on the US side. The biggest downside now, IMO, for the large portion of the Canadian population that is in Southern Ontario or Quebec, is that NY state is the likely crossing point to make such purchases, or pick up parcels and NY sales tax is relatively high. Given that popular shops like B&H and Adorama are NY based and collect NY state sales tax on in-state shipments, or that now NY state requires out of state retailers to collect NY state sales tax for orders delivered to the state, as a Canadian consumer, if an order is shipped to a package holding facility in NY state, it means paying the NY sales tax and paying the higher Canadian VAT when crossing back, which you pay on the US tax-inclusive price, to boot (that's assuming you elect to declare it, which of course you're legally required to do). So, basically any trip across the border to buy something in-person, you'll pay the state sales tax and then at least the 5% federal portion of the Canadian VAT (depends on your province how much you'll pay for the provincial portion - but residents of Alberta have the advantage here of not having a provincial sales tax).
arbitrage wrote:
No reason you can't if you can drive across. B&H and I believe other stores won't ship new Canon gear to Canada anymore. They used to. I bought my 5DIII from B&H way back when.
Purchase of Canon gear from US retailers for delivery to Canada was totally shut down by Canon USA/Canada at some point during the pandemic. But interestingly, this has recently been eased. It now appears that primarily higher end 'single digit' bodies (R and EF) are still ineligible, except interestingly, the 1DXII/III. Other items I checked, such as lenses and many accessories (though not for the R5II), apparently can be purchased and shipped across the border again.
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And yes, you would still pay tax if it was a bonafide used camera purchase. It's something you purchased outside the country and are bringing back, therefore tax is based on whatever the purchase price was. This would also apply to purchases made from an individual rather than a store, which typically when done in-province in Canada would not be tax applicable because it's a private sale. But things are different when crossing a border. There generally isn't duty (tariffs) on most photographic equipment (like cameras and lenses made in Japan), but we are obligated to pay the VAT (sales tax) on items brought back into the country. Now, if one is outside Canada for more than 48 hours, there is a CAD 800 exemption, but I don't recall if you're able to claim that $800 as a deduction if the item is valued greater than the exemption. 
Any issues with it fitting? 