We brought over a new Camry from the States when we came (outside EU) in 2000. My advice: be as nice as you can when the taxation interview comes up and answer questions honestly and you have a better chance of not getting screwed. The customs lady who interviewed us when the car arrived could have done far worse than she did - and she even worked with us to get around some of the taxes in the grey areas. Similarly, the customs people who stood by the container when we unloaded our furniture noticed a couple of boxes of new items (such as a dishset) but didn't put them down as taxable since it was clear we weren't starting our own business with the stuff...
Note that it doesn't always work. We had the opposite experience with the customs people at the airport when I received a box from Japan with anime cel artwork inside. The box was mislabeled (value in Yen instead of dollars - you do the math on the difference!). The customs person *eagerly* looked for a category to tax it into (ended up using artwork). And then, in another instance with a 150 year old ballgown, I was charged full VAT until I pointed out that it was an antique and so under a different category (the paperwork with the box clearly said 150 year old ball gown!).
