Nigel Parsons puts words in my mouth: Do you think you should be able to buy something more cheaply when it has had to cross the Atlantic than you could from a local store?

The thing I bought wasn't available in any local shop.

I'm happy enough to pay import taxes, if it's clear how much they're going to be, and if I know beforehand. But this sudden tax of more than half the value of the item, imposed out of the blue, is another matter.

And I agree with Robomatic about VAT. It's a tax that only Joe Soaps pay; business people can get their VAT back. It's also very unfairly imposed - in some countries, for instance, women's sanitary supplies are VAT-rated as "luxury items", which is news to menstruating women. And ebooks in my country are VAT-rated at something like 21%, whereas printed books are zero-rated - the best example of a pure tax on art and knowledge.