Border fee: Is passenger inspection fee reasonable?

By CBC News

The budget U.S. President Barack Obama submitted to Congress on Monday proposes to slap a $5.50 fee on every visitor from Canada who travels to the U.S. by air or by sea.

    The fee would not apply to visitors arriving in private vehicles, thus exonerating typical cross-border shoppers.

Currently, visitors from Canada, Mexico and a number of Caribbean countries are exempt from "passenger inspection fees." It's an exemption these countries have enjoyed since 1997.

But Obama's 2012 draft budget includes a legislative proposal to lift those exemptions -- a move that a supporting document from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates would bring in an extra $110 million a year.

Revenue from the charges would be used to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection's inspection functions, the document says.

By POV

http://www.cbc.ca/news/pointofview/2011/02/border-fee-do-you-think-the-passenger-inspection-fee-is-reasonable.html
 

 

http://upcomingongoing.blogspot.com/ http://tech-biz-buzz.blogspot.com/