Tracking toy tariffs

It was ruled an illegal tax by the Supreme Court, therefore whoever was charged the tax is entitled to a refund. There is no question of legality here, but feasibility. The government will basically argue that it's too hard to just send those who paid the tariff back their money, but it actually should all be itemized and therefore it's actually quite feasible and really not that hard - just expensive. Now it is possible that we'll find out the system was faulty, these tariffs were not as clear as they were supposed to be, and that could conceivably make determining a refund amount difficult, but I have heard nothing like that at this time. It becomes a more difficult thing to prove when you get to the consumer. Companies that imported products that were then sold to the American public did not have to pass on the fee to the consumer and unless it's stated somewhere in their books that it was then it's a hard thing to prove. My guess is that consumers will only see a refund if the company involved (like the previously mentioned Cards Against Humanity) takes it upon itself to issue them. Otherwise it would likely take some sort of settlement between the government and interested parties that sends the American people some token sum to close the book on everything, but that would require either a lot of cooperation from the producers and the government or some special intervention by the courts. My guess is that the companies who choose to pursue a refund will eventually get something, but consumers will just get PR spin about how prices are either going down or not going up further as a result of companies getting some of their money back.
 
Like on paper, the companies/businesses were the ones charged that unless we're talking about us getting hacked on HLJ, yes?
 
Alt said:
Like on paper, the companies/businesses were the ones charged that unless we're talking about us getting hacked on HLJ, yes?
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I think companies like Mondo might be open to action because I believe they had an separate, itemized line for a tariff surcharge. That might be the one area where a company could be open to legal action from customers (at least I think that is the gist of what Misfit is saying).

Others like Costco who didn't itemize tariffs costs specifically to the consumer are probably safer from legal action. Though who knows because it probably is all moot since I doubt the current regime is going to let one cent slip through their fingers without a massive fight.
 
Alt said:
Like on paper, the companies/businesses were the ones charged that unless we're talking about us getting hacked on HLJ, yes?
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Yes, they were the ones that were actually charged the tax so they were the ones that were technically harmed by the illegal cash grab of the US government. Practically speaking, most of those companies in turn raised their prices so the consumers bore the brunt of the tariffs. It's not entirely the same thing, but the agriculture industry gets bailed out somewhat frequently when certain events or conditions cause them harm. The government sends the farmers a bunch of money, even though the American people are getting nailed by the same conditions at the grocery store.
 
It's going to be a logistical nightmare to refund consumers. I could instead see businesses receiving a huge check from the government, ostensibly making this a tax on the poor paid to corporations. Seeing as who's on the Supreme Court, that may have been the intent all along.
 
I don't know every detail or all the ins and outs, but there is a thing called ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) that importing companies should all have accounts with and that should have records of what tariffs and other duties they paid, how much, and when. Maybe not every company though has its own account, but I believe they should at least have a broker who does. Probably too much to ask for this administration to go in and tally it up, but the account holders might be able to and then formally request a refund?
 
Alt said:
So if I'm selling Mafex figures as a business. Trump puts tariffs on. I adjust my prices to accommodate for these tariffs.
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Most companies didn't raise prices for months and ate the tariffs for months or up to a year. Even if you as a company wanted to raise prices on day one that the tariffs started he didn't give companies enough advance warning to communicate the price hikes to make sure every shipping container coming from overseas contained products sold under that higher price. Many orders had already been placed or were simply on the way from the warehouse to the shipping company when these tariffs went in place.

Yes, companies eventually passed this increased cost on to consumers and ideally we'd all get a refund but there's no great way to do that. Every company took it on the chin though so it makes sense that they should get some reimbursement. Not 100%, but something. The easiest way would be a one-off tax credit that gave some to-be-determined percentage of the total amount each company spent on tariffs. That percentage shouldn't be 100%, but I don't know what it should be.
 
RicksNerdLife said:
I just don't understand this mentality of doing EVERYTHING wrong.

Quite literally every single God damned thing. Ever dwindling public approval. Constant pushback. Experts stating over and over the repercussions.

And yet...
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What I don't understand even more than that is the idiots (30-35%) who still support this idiocy and even cheer it on. Just keep on keepin' on and everything will be all right................:rolleyes:
 
RicksNerdLife said:
I just don't understand this mentality of doing EVERYTHING wrong.

Quite literally every single God damned thing. Ever dwindling public approval. Constant pushback. Experts stating over and over the repercussions.

And yet...
Click to expand...
I had a client during Covid. Seeing the whole family actually: tons of domestic strife, contentious adoption within the family, messed up sexual dynamic, abuse, the works. The husband wouldn’t/couldn’t even clean his own piss off the floor when he (frequently) missed the toilet. Wife going through breast cancer treatment.

The guy will NOT get vaxxed.

Just won’t fucking do it.

We talked around the issue again and again, then finally, in a solo session, I point blank asked him what his actual, practical, physical issue with getting vaxxed was.

He said: “I don’t have a problem with getting vaccinated, I understand why.

BUT I WON’T BE TOLD WHAT TO DO.”
 
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