Live And Learn....There Is A Better Way To Send Books.

First of all I want to thank everyone who has sent books for our library. It is growing little by little and we will be open everyday starting next week. I would like to see more tourist on their way to Baños, jump off the bus and spend a few hours in Salasaca or maybe even overnight. I would love to show you around and any books that you brought would be worth a nights lodging at the volunteers quarters, if we have an extra bed available.

Now that I have brought up the subject of books I would like to relate my last experience with the Post Office here in Salasaca.

I received a message from the post office in Salasaca advising me there were three boxes in customs at the Ambato Post Office and I needed to pick them up before noon that same day or they would send them back...wherever back would be. I got the message around 9AM. So with a deadline three hours away, I left the school in the rain and headed to Ambato. Because of the road construction going on at each end of Salasaca, I had to walk to an area at the outskirts of Pelileo to get a bus to Ambato and arrived at the Post Office around 11:00.

This was my first experience with Customs at the post office so I did not know what to expect. As it turned out there were indeed three boxes of books sent by two different people in Texas. The labels stated that the contents were a donation and I was armed with a letter from the officials of the school district to the customs officials requesting that any duty that might be due be waived. After checking the contents I was surprised that the customs agent got out his calculator and started punching numbers. He then looked up and said in a very calm voice. "That will $94.00 (and some change). I looked up and said, "Your not serious?" and he said "Tes I am." I then went into my poor school routine but it had no effect. I asked weather the letter from the officials had any weight at all? I was told that it did and there was no duty charged on the books...Only the postage. And since there was no way I could take the books and they keep the stamps I had to figure a way to come up with the money. Unfortunately, these kind folks from Texas and undoubtedly friends or family of our last volunteer, Inn Chambers had sent the packages Priority Mail at a cost of $275.

What I learned was:
1. If you are going to send anything by mail send it the cheapest way.
2. If the weight is two kilos or less, it does not go through customs and therefore no duty.
3. If it is more than two kilos you must pay duty on the contents and 30% duty on the postage.
4. This tax only applies to items sent by mail. The 30% does not apply if you send by other means.

I did ask the agent what would happen if we could not raise the money. He told me they would be put in storage and a judge would decide what to do with them. I commented that maybe the judge would donate them to the school and the agent responded, maybe, but we would have to wait a year.

I will not abandon the books to chance and next week I will deliver the money and take the books.

A final note....We need more books and if you send them by mail just make sure that the package is less than two kilos. In the meantime we are trying to get one of the air carriers to ship them for free. I will keep you advised on how we are doing in this regard.

Thanks again for the books....We learned a good lesson and education is not free.

I really would like to know if other countries are this creative in their tax laws.