What about books, cds & dvds?

[Perla]

Hello,

With MP3 & YouTube cds are practically worth nothing.

Same applies to dvds.

And old books?

How will they be taxed? Only professional booksellers

would be able to put prices on books.

I'm a retired librarian myself.

Anyone with experience concerning such items?

Thanks a lot!

Kind regards,

Perla

[scott h]

1 hour ago, Perla said:

And old books

on 2012 I brought hundreds of used books in my container and was not taxed. Welcome to the forum

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Perla said:

cds are practically worth nothing.

Same applies to dvds.

And old books?

How will they be taxed?

This is Philippines, you may have a different experience than others.  In general, people ship items like that in their luggage or in balikbayan boxes and have no duty to pay.  If you are sending sufficient quantities to draw the attention of customs then they may think the items are not for personal use and you may have to pay some tax.  

[bigpearl]

1 hour ago, Perla said:

Anyone with experience concerning such items?

 

I like scott h have thousands of books, archived and read once, the occasional one twice, you know what? In my/our move I will get rid of 40 plus years of *rap/dust collectors as there are many more,,,,,,,, too many novels/literature to consider reading let alone move them to another country, the same with music, 500 plus vinyl and over thousand cd's, what for? They are all ,,,,,,, or most available on the net, my old music collection in hard copy pales against the 2 plus Gb I have on a couple of hard drives collected over the last 10 years and guess what, all replaceable. Hard copies are gone unless you have serious collectables and as a wise inquisitive soul you will know the value/rarity of the same.

For us we will shed the load and the dust, barter yes but relinquish the rubbish we will, let the past go and dearly try to focus on the future.......... Took me a long time to see a future without the past. Material things it appears are short lived, focus on longevity and happiness, nothing else really matters.

Cheers, Steve.

[Perla]

1 hour ago, scott h said:

on 2012 I brought hundreds of used books in my container and was not taxed. Welcome to the forum

Hello,

thanks!

My husband's special library of international military history is the result of a lifetime of systematic collecting.

He might claim that he considers donating it to the Philippine Military Academy.

Have a nice day!

Perla

 

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

23 minutes ago, Perla said:

He might claim that he considers donating it to the Philippine Military Academy.

Philippines has some curious laws regarding customs duties.  I have heard of people having to pay duties on charitable donations imported into the country whereas things for your personal use go unchallenged. 

NOTE:  You may be able to do that as the link I provide below says: "gifts made to or for the use of the national government or any entity created by any of its agencies not conducted for profit, or to any of its political subdivisions" may be tax free

What does the Tax Code really say about taxation of donations? 

Quote

As a general rule, the transfer of property through gift by any person, resident or not, is taxed at varying rates. In general, the donor’s tax for each calendar year is computed on the basis of net gifts following a table of graduated rates from 2% to 15%, depending on the amount of the donation. However, if the donee is a stranger, the tax rate that applies is 30%. For this purpose, a “stranger” is a person who is not a brother, sister (by whole or half blood), a spouse, ancestor, or lineal descendant, or a relative by consanguinity within the fourth degree in the collateral line. However, donations not exceeding P100,000 are exempt.

There is more about the Tax code on gifts if you click this link

Edited November 8, 2017 by Dave Hounddriver

[Perla]

... AFTER he has gone for a Burton or bit the dust!

 

[Tukaram (Tim)]

When I came I sent 11 balikbayan boxes. They get no taxes, no customs, and seemingly no inspections (I have sent close to 20 and never had one opened yet).  I already had all my CDs ripped as MP3s, so selling the CDs was no concern. I let my kids take as many  of my DVDs as they wanted (except my musicals and Hogan's Heroes). I made iso copies of any I wanted to bring with me, that they wanted. I shipped about 250 DVDs (BB boxes also have no weight limit!). 

The problem was books. I have never gotten rid of any books. I had about 8 bookcases full, a mix of hard & paper back. Mostly sci-fi and philosophy.  I picked about 25 of my favorites and sold the rest at Half Price Books - quite painful that.  But... I have thousands of books in electronic format, so I survived.  I have hardly glanced at the books I brought, and should have left them all. Especially the leather bound Kipling collection that my daughter wanted... but I gave her my car... she will be ok ha ha. 

All the movies, music, and books are backed up multiple times. My PC, my laptop, my wife's laptop, and 2 external drives. So nothing lost yet. 

[Queenie O.]

Perla, and BigPearl/Steve,

Perla, I'm not sure if balik bayan boxes are an option for you, as you are rather pressed for time, but I have had a different point of view, about shedding beloved books cds and dvds etc. etc. Along with my husband, we shipped many BB boxes full of them, and never regretted a single one. The Philippines I've found is not a place to find or replace things that one has collected and enjoyed over time. In a country where only the rich can have collections, used books of one's interest old movies and historical and memorable items can mean a lot more to a person than just their actual cost money wise. Of course one can't bring everything, but treasured and familiar things will still be treasured as one goes through time here. I brought several hundred books here in BB boxes, and have a huge wall sized bookcase full of my treasures.  I find happiness reading and going over them as well as other hobby things They are a part of me, and I'm grateful for not having  let them go. Keep as much as you can in my opinion, and I guess let go of what you can't keep without regret.

Best wishes on you and your husband's move and new adventure here. and I hope that his health gets better here in the Philippines.

Edited November 9, 2017 by Queenie O.

[Perla]

Dear Queenie.,

thanks for your kind advice.

I think we'll go for the regular move with a container hoping that the books

will escape taxation.

Have a nice weekend.

Kind regards,

Perla & Mike