Originally Posted by B1
This is a typical nuisance that is an archaic bit in the tax code that Paul Martin should have removed when he was finance minister. It goes against the essence of free trade. I heard him say that he couldn't remove all the nuisance tax items because the government needed the money.
Technically, it is a customs/duty issue (under the CBSA), not a tax issue (under the CRA). It had some basis, I expect, in the auto pact which preceded the NAFTA.