Types of foreign trade taxes

1. Ad valorem tax:Ad valorem duty is a tariff levied on the price of imported goods as a standard. The tax rate is expressed as a percentage of the price of the goods. The calculation formula is: tax amount = total value of goods × ad valorem tax rate. The ad valorem tax is a symmetry of the specific tax, which is based on the value or price form of the taxable object and calculates various taxes levied according to a certain proportion. But in determining the value of goods, customs practices vary from country to country. Some are based on the invoice price, some are based on the FOB price, some are based on the CIF price, and some are based on the price of independent buyers and sellers under the conditions of free competition, the so-called \"normal price\", and some \"Customs estimated price\" to calculate ad valorem tax. It is more common to use the CIF as the customs duty-paid value. The protective effect of ad valorem taxes fluctuates with fluctuations in prices. When the price goes up, its protective effect increases: when the price goes down, its protective effect decreases. More countries in the world adopt ad valorem tax.

　　2. Specific tax:Customs duties are calculated based on the weight, quantity, length, area, volume, capacity and specifications of the goods. The formula for calculating the specific tax is: tax = quantity of goods × specific tax per unit. Tariffs based on the weight of goods are the most common. When the price rises, the specific tax amount cannot be increased accordingly, and its protective effect is small; when the price falls, the tax amount is not affected, and its protective effect is large. Switzerland is the only developed country that adopts specific taxes exclusively.

　　3. Mixed tax:A mixed tax is a compound tax, which levies both ad valorem and specific taxes on a certain import or export goods or articles. That is, a method of collecting both specific and ad valorem taxes is adopted. The compound tax can be divided into two types: one is to levy ad valorem tax mainly on specific tax; the other is to levy specific tax mainly on ad valorem tax. The United States uses mixed taxes more frequently.

　　4. Choose tax:For a commodity, both the ad valorem tax rate and the specific tax rate are specified, and the higher one is taxed. Sometimes, in order to encourage the import of a certain commodity, there are also those who choose the lower one to levy taxes.