The EU and UK have systems to allow the tax to be paid when purchasing, for large companies that support it like Ali Express. These are fairly new.
Countries also have their own limits below which they don't bother with the taxes. There was so much abuse of this in the EU+UK the limit is now zero.
The only time it should be surprising is when the foreign website isn't paying the taxes, and it also isn't clear it's a foreign site. Generally on cheap crap from China.
Countries also have their own limits below which they don't bother with the taxes. There was so much abuse of this in the EU+UK the limit is now zero.
The only time it should be surprising is when the foreign website isn't paying the taxes, and it also isn't clear it's a foreign site. Generally on cheap crap from China.