Being charged for sales tax in New York?

[tomterr3d]

So, I bought a tee shirt over the weekend and also decided to buy an android box. WEll, lo and behold, just found out that ebay charges sales tax now. So, I got on the phone with my brother-in -law who is an attorney, esp, knowledgeable in this area, as he was working on a committee to stop this being implemented when it was brought up.

Wow, is he angry, more than me, seems that noone was informed that this was going to occur, in fact, they just added my state, NY, to the mix. My reps and senators, didn 't even know when it was going to begin,  seems they just jumped over quite a few hoops without telling anybody and as I have been told, it began June 1st,  in fact it wasn't even posted anywhere on the Internet until after the weekend.

Here is the bottom line, they are going to meet again this weekend, the committee that was overseeing these bills regarding this issue. From what one of the members explained to me this afternoon, this might be the death knell for ebay, as already in his district the past two days,  online sales have plummeted and he did agres that it will help the local merchants and stores immensely, but  cautioned that , from his experience, even he will decline buying ebay goods as the incentive will just not be there anymore. Anyway, any concerns  that can be raised, would appreciate your input, For myself, that will take me out of the ebay bidding and buying game, unless there is a serious need or the price is minimal, bye, bye, American Ebay Pie!

[ms.rodriguez*]

You will also be taxed on stuff that you buy on other sites.  3 more states get added in July.

[lacemaker3]

Your information is out of date. I'm afraid your BIL and whatever committee member you got the information from were not up to date on the situation. These are from mid-March and early April. Apparently the bill was passed on April 1.

https://taxnews.ey.com/news/2019-0518-new-york-explains-that-marketplace-provider-is-a-vendor-for-sa...

https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report-state/state-of-wayfair-new-york-passes-marketplace-la...

Many things have been proclaimed as the "death bell" for eBay over the last 20 years. It hasn't happened yet. And sellers have been complaining about plummeting sales for almost that long. As far as I can see, the complaints about sales being lost haven't changed much over the last few years, in other words, there have been many complaints over that whole time, not really more at any particular time. Most people seem to be attributing the recent sales drops to changes in the listing duration (from 30 days to Good til Cancelled).

[fuzzface50]

I don't see it as a death sentence because you pay taxes at a b/m store or online now. Where are you going to buy from to escape paying taxes? I am still going to shop at my favorite online sites.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

OP was correct, the term is death knell not bell.

[inflationbeaters]

I also didn't know about this.  I got an ebay buck promo of 8% and put $500 in coins in shopping cart.  I went to buy and was stunned to see $40 in sales tax.  Called ebay and asked why there's sales tax when the seller isn't from NY.  Ebay told me starting June 1st, that NY residents have to now pay sales tax when buying from any state.  So I closed out of checkout and went to cart and removed the items and decided not to buy.  NY sales tax is 8%, which completely wipes out the 8% ebay bucks promo.

[rrr555]

Paying both tax and shipping adds up.  I think this will hurt sellers because many buyers will buy less as they see that new added charge of sales tax.  8% NY sales tax adds a lot.  Many buyers will bid less on auctions and be more selective in what they buy.  I usually buy a lot every week, but haven't bought anything since law went into effect June 1st

[lenny0303]

In a way it is far. Brick and Mortar is dying a fast death. At least play on a level playing field and use the same weapons. It is not ebay's fault, it is the greedy state. Some states don't even have sales tax.

[7606dennis]

Actually, you were probably suppose to be paying taxes in the form of use tax all along.  The market facilitator laws passed by some states merely places the burden on collecting them on the larger sites such as eBay and Amazon.  This is probably a way for them to insure that they are receiving their tax money rather depending on the honor of their residents.

[computeraidllc]

All 45 states have an use tax which is the same rate as sales tax that is suppose to be paid if you get an item delivered or brought into a state that you did not pay the sales tax in. Anything you buy out of state and did pay tax is due when you file income tax. This has been law since sale tax started.

It is easier to have the seller collect the tax then having the buyer remit it to the state at the end of year. I am kinda glad that eBay is required to collect this in certain states as it takes the burden of the Wayfair decision off my back because there are some states where I sell enough to qualify to collect and remit. I don't mind my home state because I do physical sales so I have always had to collect but with a small pile of states now requiring me to collect and remit when I hit a certain number or dollar amount of transaction can and does put a big burden on me to handle.

So with eBay collecting, they are doing me a favor in that it takes that burden off me. It also now takes some of the collecting requirement off me for my home state: New York because now I don't have to collect it anymore.

The only thing I am waiting for is eBay to send me an ST-150 as the new law requires them to send to any seller in New York that says eBay is now collecting the tax. https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/memos/sales/m19-2s.pdf see page 3 and the st-150 is here eBay: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/current_forms/st/st150.pdf

[soh.maryl]

Of course, charging state sales tax for online purchases should create an even playing field and surely would except that now the online shopper has the added expense of the shipping fee.  So it seems like the only eBay shoppers will eventually dwindle down to those for whom local shopping is an inconvenience or for rare or one of a kind items.  Hope not, but that's what it looks like. 

[soh.maryl]

Many of us are paying state sales tax at B&M stores for quite a long time and think nothing of it.

The problem will be that buying online involves shipping costs. 

[tomterr3d]

Well, just ordered guitar strings and some other stuff from my fave online stores. NO SALES TAX, so someone somewhere is not cooperating or complying. I just checked my messages, one from my congressmen and he said , this whole situation is really unfortunate for everyone involved. they didn't want this bill to pass, but noone was cooperating online wise. I used to go on ebay late at night, and if I saw an item that I could use or needed, would buy it and the process would be easy. Now, no more scouring this site, like before, regardless of what you might b believe, everyone at my diner was shocked and dismayed, am sure there will be serious repercussions!

[tomterr3d]

Believe me, this piling on of sales tax will slowly kill ebay sales  as people would come on this site, just to save a bit, but am glad it will help the retail stores and MOM and POP places, which I will frequent more now. Oh, by the way, almost all the vendors on other online sites, know nothing about this, so they were not informed!

[7606dennis]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

Of course, charging state sales tax for online purchases should create an even playing field and surely would except that now the online shopper has the added expense of the shipping fee.  So it seems like the only eBay shoppers will eventually dwindle down to those for whom local shopping is an inconvenience or for rare or one of a kind items.  Hope not, but that's what it looks like. 

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One needs to consider the overall cost of item which includes S&H.  People buying locally from B&M stores have to consider the gas and other automobile expenses involved in making a trip to the store along with things like parking.  Buying online is no different than mail-order except you usually can get your purchase quicker.  I remember when many mail-order firms advised customers to allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.