Ebay checkout - being charged incorrect tax amount
I won two items from a seller at these prices:
$132.50 + $5 Shipping
$104.50 + $5 Shipping
So the total is $247!
But now I'm being charged tax on that full amount. Ok. In the state of Washington, the sales tax rate is 6.5%. This means Tax should be $16.05. But tax is showing as $21.74 (Which is 7.93%). Whats going on here?
7 comments
gurlcat
·3 years agoPssst, please don't anyone tell the OP about how their FVF's are also calculated from item + shipping + taxes. I would hate to see how upset THAT would make them.
lisa5768
·3 years agoBlaine sales tax rate is 8.8% and WA state includes the shipping cost in the taxable amount.
$247 x 0.088 (8.8%) = 21.736 rounded up to $21.74
007craft
OP3 years agoWell thats pretty lame. I just looked it up and the blaine sales tax (where the package is shipped) is actually 2.29 %, so 8.8% tax total. My 7.9% tax rate still doesnt make sense.
It sure would be nice of ebay to give a breakdown on how the taxes are calculated.
Its already annoying enough that I'm paying taxes on a 25 year old used item, that already had taxes paid on it when it was originally purchased. Silly that old things are re-taxed. If an item is bought and sold 10-15 times it has generated more government tax then the item is even worth. Unlimited Tax generated income until the product is destroyed ðŸ˜
kensgiftshop
·3 years agoIt's not the item being taxed, it's the transaction, so it doesn't matter if the item is new or used.
Does Washington tax the shipping charge also?
monroe67
·3 years ago"It sure would be nice of ebay to give a breakdown on how the taxes are calculated."
I imagine eBay kind of assumes that buyers know what the sales tax rates are in their areas. Like if you buy a package of colored pencils at Walmart for $9.99, you kind of round up that price in your head to $10.00. And if you know your sales tax rate is 7.9%, you can expect to pay $10.79 for them. Maybe $10.78, maybe $10.80, but you should have a general idea of what your sales tax percentage is.
"Its already annoying enough that I'm paying taxes on a 25 year old used item, that already had taxes paid on it when it was originally purchased. Silly that old things are re-taxed."
I think there may be a couple of Justices at the Supreme Court of the United States who would take offense at your determination that these taxes are "silly."
The fact that a product is new or used does not make any difference. The Supreme Court's decision in South Dakota v Wayfair started the process of taxing online sales of Things. The transaction is taxed.
I think you were probably also charged sales tax on the cost of the $10.00 total in postage that you paid.
The sales tax money goes to the state of Washington and possibly your county and city or town. Don't you think they can use your $21-$22 in taxes?
r_lresale
·3 years agoI found this:
Washington has state sales tax of 6.5% , and allows local governments to collect a local option sales tax of up to 3.1%. There are a total of 216 local tax jurisdictions across the state, collecting an average local tax of 2.236%.
Depending on the jurisdiction/zipcode (as @myangelandmyprincess said) that could maybe account for the higher tax??
myangelandmyprincess
·3 years agoDo you have the full zip code with your address including the last four numbers? If you don't have all the code eBay will base the tax on the higher rate for your area. As local municipalities have rates that can increase the cost