Howdy bigace-ga,
I have corresponded with the statistics department of the Kingdom of
Tonga, and here are the resulting figures that cover the 2004 import
tax duties. Depending on the specific product you are looking to
import, the import duties vary, as follows.
Import duties, port and service taxes, and sales tax are charged on
CIF (cost, insurance and freight) values.
Import duties:
- some goods, like foods, agricultural goods, building materials, etc.
are duty free
- other goods (commonly used) - 15%
- clothing and footwear - 20%
- beverages and tobacco range from 100% to 350%
- motor vehicles - 45%
- motor vehicle spare parts - 35%
In addition to the import duties:
- Port and service taxes - 20% on CIF imports.
- Sales tax - 5% of CIF imports
There is a proposed tax reform that should come into play in early 2005,
but the details of that are still forthcoming. The proposed import duty
rates can be viewed on this Tonga government document. I have summarized
some of the pertinent areas for you.
http://pmo.gov.to/Proposed_tax_reform.htm
Import duties:
- flat rate of 10% for almost all imports ...
- abolition of ports & services tax ...
...
Port and service taxes [PST]:
- Phase 1: Introduce a 5% reduction on PST [15%]
- Phase 2: A further reduction by 5% on PST [10%]
- Phase 3: A further reduction 5% on PST [5%]
- Final Phase reduction of PST to zero [0%]
...
Sales tax:
- Phase 1: 5% increase [to a] 10% rate applied to all imported goods ...
- Phase 2: a further increase by 5% to [a] 15% rate ...
You will want to read the original of the above proposed changes for a
detailed breakdown of the phases, etc. The contact email address on the
above document is given at the end as: minister@finance.gov.to
If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.
Search strategy:
Google search on: Tonga import duty OR duties
://www.google.com/search?q=Tonga+import+duty+OR+duties
Google search on: import "tax reform" Tonga
://www.google.com/search?q=import+%22tax+reform%22+Tonga
Correspondence with the Kingdom of Tonga statistics department.
Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher |
