Tracking toy tariffs

[Misfit]

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.

 

[Alt]

Like on paper, the companies/businesses were the ones charged that unless we're talking about us getting hacked on HLJ, yes?

 

[canprime]

Like on paper, the companies/businesses were the ones charged that unless we're talking about us getting hacked on HLJ, yes?

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.

 

[Misfit]

Like on paper, the companies/businesses were the ones charged that unless we're talking about us getting hacked on HLJ, yes?

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.

 

[Alt]

You speak sense.