Is US getting so hungry ?
U.S. President Barrack Obama has proposed a new 'passenger inspection fee' on Canadian travellers entering the country
The draft budget for 2012 submitted to Congress on Monday, includes a proposed fee for all Canadians travelling to the U.S. by air or sea.
If the proposal is accepted, Canadian travellers arriving by air or sea would be slapped with an additional service charge of $5.50 above and beyond all existing taxes.
Presently, all visitors from Canada, Mexico and a number of Caribbean countries are exempt from this fee and have been since 1997.
The draft budget for 2012, submitted by Obama to Congress Monday morning, includes a proposal to lift these exemptions which would generate an estimated $110 million a year, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The revenue from the proposed charges would support U.S. Customs and Border Protection's inspection functions which have recently grown more intensive, according to the documents submitted by Homeland Security.
The proposed fee comes just a week after Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Obama agreed to a deal that would establish a North American security and trade perimeter.
The fee would not apply to Canadians travelling in private vehicles.
In 2009 alone, 16.3 million Canadians took trans-border flights between Canada and the U.S., according to Statistics Canada.
Do you think the proposed passenger inspection fee is reasonable? Share your comments below.
U.S. President Barrack Obama has proposed a new 'passenger inspection fee' on Canadian travellers entering the country
The draft budget for 2012 submitted to Congress on Monday, includes a proposed fee for all Canadians travelling to the U.S. by air or sea.
If the proposal is accepted, Canadian travellers arriving by air or sea would be slapped with an additional service charge of $5.50 above and beyond all existing taxes.
Presently, all visitors from Canada, Mexico and a number of Caribbean countries are exempt from this fee and have been since 1997.
The draft budget for 2012, submitted by Obama to Congress Monday morning, includes a proposal to lift these exemptions which would generate an estimated $110 million a year, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The revenue from the proposed charges would support U.S. Customs and Border Protection's inspection functions which have recently grown more intensive, according to the documents submitted by Homeland Security.
The proposed fee comes just a week after Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Obama agreed to a deal that would establish a North American security and trade perimeter.
The fee would not apply to Canadians travelling in private vehicles.
In 2009 alone, 16.3 million Canadians took trans-border flights between Canada and the U.S., according to Statistics Canada.
Do you think the proposed passenger inspection fee is reasonable? Share your comments below.
