VAT

So after nearly 4 months of being here I have finally figured out the intricate workings of the customs and toll taxes (VAT) system that they employ on imported packages here. I have to say it's too complicated for it's own good, but now that I understand it, I've decided to give you all a little lesson in it too, enjoy.

• So apparantly packages marked as gifts are free of toll up to a worth of CHF 100. So that's nice. And apparantly alcohol and tabacco don't count, but I can't say I worry too much about that.
• They don't charge you tax if the tax amount is less than CHF 5, which is also nice.
• Items such as books, cds, movies, etc. are charged a 2.4% tax of their worth, which means I can order up to CHF 208 worth of them and not have to pay tax.
• All other items are a 7.6% tax, which unfortantly equals only CHF 65 of tax free goods.
• So when you are charged tax, they also charge you a customs tax which is an additional CHF 18, but only for regular customs items (not entirely sure what those are) and special customs items are CHF 38.

So in conclusion if you're not careful, you'll end up paying as much in import tax and toll as the package is worth, but now that I've figured out the system (after translating it from German), it is nifty to understand how to get around it. So now I don't have to worry about unexpectedly having to pay some ridiculous sum when my mother sends me a package (except for that first time when my contacts were worth like $200).

So on a totally different note I was completely surprised by nice sunshine today. Unfortunately the forcast is rain all the rest of the week. I just hope that it turns nicer for our "camping" trip in Tessin.

And again on another note, Ryan was super super cranky today was was crying all day long. Apparantly he woke up at like 5am this morning so he was really tired, and then he didn't get a nap because Andrea had plans to visit a coworker and see her new baby. So I was lucky and had a nice quiet afternoon, but as soon as they came home I heard screaming, and he was being a butt too. Apparantly he wanted to play outside, but it was dinner time and Andrea said no, so he was standing in the front hall throwing a fit and Andrea was ignoring him and making dinner. Well apparantly he knocked everything off the side table by the front door so that he could get the keys to the front door and try to go outside. And even after that didn't work for him we noticed that it got quiet and Andrea went to investigate and apparantly he had gone down into the cellar was was trying to go out that door. Personally I would have given him a spanking and put him to bed. But then I remember that the only way to keep him in the room would be to lock him in (I only say that because I know he wouldn't stay put in his bed) and then that would be a disaster because he'd start throwing things and destroying everything. I don't know how Andrea does it sometimes, because a child with fits of that caliber would be enough to drive me insane. I pray for her sake that he grows out of it because I'm not sure there's much she can do now to prevent them.