Charging tax is killing my buying

[campy-sr]

My state says that used or 2nd hand goods do not need to be charged sales tax because it was already paid when it was new (in theory). eBay seems to want charge tax on used items even when I can walk into any pawn shop and get the same item tax free. Calling eBay had no effect since they don't care even after explaining the law to them.

Is the only option I have is the change my address to have items shipped to my brother who lives in a sales tax-free state, and have him ship it or hold it for me?

I can see my eBay days numbered, it's just not worth the **bleep**

[7606dennis]

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@inflationbeaters wrote:

I live in NY and had no idea that NY had passed the law that New York resident have to now pay sales tax when buying from every state instead of when buying from New Yorkers.  I got an ebay bucks promo and put $500 of coins in my cart and then clicked to go to check out and pay.  Was stunned when I saw almost $40 in sales tax because the sellers were not from NY.  I called ebay and they showed me an ebay page showing that NY began charging sales tax on EVERY sale.  So I didn't bother buying the coins because the 8% sales tax wipes out the 8% ebay bucks promo.  

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You were probably not aware than that even before the New York legislature passed this new Market Facilitator law, New York residents that bought stuff and had it delivered within the state were subject to the state's sales/use tax laws and were liable for paying it to the state.  Perhaps you need to take a bit more of an active role in politics.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I’m a legitimate website and will not be collecting taxes for out of State because I don’t meet the thresholds anywhere.

I’ve had my website for 20 years. Always on the top of google search. I’m pretty sure I’m legit.

[jennieaa]

I will sound like a broken record -- platforms are not prepared for the minor differences between what is and is not taxable or which sales tax rate will be charged.

As long as my county sales tax and the city sales tax of my zip code are the same, things are fine.  If the city raises their sales tax and the county does not, then a problem occurs.   I don't live in the city of my zip code.   There is no county zip code - and there are many of us who do not live in a city, we live in an 'unincorporated' area.  Even worse, I know of one city that does not have a zip code, is split between two counties and their zip code is in a third county.   In my state, tax would have to be collected by zip+4 to get it right. 

[sweetpieces4you]

Come on , Seriously !! Ebay has nothing to do with Your State Tax Laws !! Blame Your State and It's Representatives for The Greed !! End of Story !! 

[ms.rodriguez*]

Once folks get used to paying the sales tax, they will come back to ebay. Eventually all 50 states will have this tax. On July 1, 3 more states are added to bring the total up to 21 states.

[bonjourami]

Absolutely, I am in Il., it hasnt started here yet..but when it does, Ill roll with the flow. I pay taxes everywhere else, why not Ebay? A few extra dollars here and there wont kill me.nor should it.Pick your battles is my motto,lifes too short.

[quiltgeek]

From what I've read, over 30 States have already passed new Online Sales Tax laws. The list eBay has is only the States that require eBay to collect and remit the sales tax for all shipments into each State.

Some States use the Marketing Facilitator method where the sales tax is collected and remitted by the website, not the individual sellers. What items get taxed and what items are not is not defined in the tax collection by a Marketing Faciliator as far as I can tell.

Some States require large retailers to do the collecting and remitting for their own sales. In these States, buying from a small seller who is not required to collect sales tax may mean the BUYER is responsible for tracking their own purchases and submitting USE tax.

[bonjourami]

yes Ive been reading about it online for days..personally Im happy to let Ebay collect taxes for me. I was a power seller of fine jewelry here for many years, with a tax id..what a pain. I started back in the days before Paypal,and had a merchants acct..and that was another pain.Major bookkeeping..Ebay is making collecting taxes for sellers easy.

[lovett-1000]

Yes you are right lots of states are killing there internet sales with this stupid tax.  It is not e bays fault but your state is just greedy. But all are greedy and will join in on the gravy pot soon.  It has drove the price of online sales up past what items are worth. Like you say tax has been paid on most all sold on here anyway. So yes it is just a way for your elected politicians to cash in on something they do not represent. For the ones that are not collecting yet. Better cash in before August because the list is getting longer on this stupid tax. Anyone that lives in states that collect this should voice up to their elected politicians in there state.  They are not helping your state but taxing it to death.  

[beez5720]

Maybe you can appeal the US Supreme Court's decision to allow states to collect sales tax for online sales.

[7606dennis]

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@lovett-1000 wrote:

Yes you are right lots of states are killing there internet sales with this stupid tax.  It is not e bays fault but your state is just greedy. But all are greedy and will join in on the gravy pot soon.  It has drove the price of online sales up past what items are worth. Like you say tax has been paid on most all sold on here anyway. So yes it is just a way for your elected politicians to cash in on something they do not represent. For the ones that are not collecting yet. Better cash in before August because the list is getting longer on this stupid tax. Anyone that lives in states that collect this should voice up to their elected politicians in there state.  They are not helping your state but taxing it to death.  

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Actually, the states have always charged sales/use tax on items purchased outside the state and delivered inside the state.  The only thing the states are doing now that the Supreme Court has said it is constitutional for them to do so is to make the market facilitators like eBay, Etsy and Amazon responsible for collecting the sales/use tax that the state's residents have neglected to pay in the past. 

[doortek]

No, you have another option. Since you are selling, register for a resale tax number and then register it with eBay.... and voila! You can then argue with the state you are in, whether or not you owe or do not owe by the laws you cite. If you are buying and have not resold, no tax is due and if you are selling used items with no tax due by law, you are good. But, you will have to file at least quarterly for sales or no sales.

[7606dennis]

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@doortek wrote:

No, you have another option. Since you are selling, register for a resale tax number and then register it with eBay.... and voila! You can then argue with the state you are in, whether or not you owe or do not owe by the laws you cite. If you are buying and have not resold, no tax is due and if you are selling used items with no tax due by law, you are good. But, you will have to file at least quarterly for sales or no sales.

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Of course, just being registered with a resale certificate doesn't automatically make everything that you buy tax exempt.  While you may not have to pay sales/use tax at the time of purchase, you will have to account for and pay the taxes when you use something yourself or it is no longer being held for resale. 

[rrr555]

7606dennis: there was never a sales tax or a use tax when New York residents bought items online from sellers who did not live in NY.  You and others who keep writing about a "use tax" don't know what you are talking about.  What are you talking about? Until June 1st, NY residents paid 0% sales tax and 0% use tax on ANY item they bought from a seller who did not live in NY.  But now, NY is the 9th state to force their residents to pay sales tax when buying from a seller in another state.  This is a complete negative for these buyers and makes them pay more for the exact same item than buyers in non-taxed states.  There is nothing positive and besides the taxed buyers; it  also hurts sellers and ebay.    I was ready to buy some items and saw the sales tax when I went to check out and decided not to buy.  

[7606dennis]

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@rrr555 wrote:

7606dennis: there was never a sales tax or a use tax when New York residents bought items online from sellers who did not live in NY.  You and others who keep writing about a "use tax" don't know what you are talking about.  What are you talking about? Until June 1st, NY residents paid 0% sales tax and 0% use tax on ANY item they bought from a seller who did not live in NY.  But now, NY is the 9th state to force their residents to pay sales tax when buying from a seller in another state.  This is a complete negative for these buyers and makes them pay more for the exact same item than buyers in non-taxed states.  There is nothing positive and besides the taxed buyers; it  also hurts sellers and ebay.    I was ready to buy some items and saw the sales tax when I went to check out and decided not to buy.  

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As far as I know, every state that has sales tax laws on the books to charge their residents tax on items purchased also have statutes that include use tax to be paid by their residents on purchases made where sales tax has not been collected by the seller.  This includes purchases made from out of state sellers that were not required to collect the tax for the state.  However, the failure of the seller to collect the sales tax for the state does not, and never did, negate the buyers owing of that tax to the state.  If you check with the New York Department of Revenue they will probably confirm that that state has a use tax included in the sales tax  legislation.   I've even been told that there is a place for New York State residents to enter the amount of this tax on their state income tax return.  Of course, not being a resident of that state I'm not sure if that is correct.

Up until the Supreme Courts recent ruling, out of state sellers were required to collect sales tax from residents only if they had a physical nexus in the state.  Of course, the fact that those sellers without that requirement that didn't collect the tax did not relieve the residents of that state from their obligation to pay that tax to the state.  It only meant that the buyer must pay it directly to the state.

Since the Supreme Court's ruling that it is not unconstitutional  for states to pass laws requiring out of state sellers without a nexus within a state to collect those taxes, many states have passed such laws.  However, these new laws have added a new tax on items purchased out of state and delivered within the state.  Rather they have merely required those sellers to collect the taxes from their residents at the time the sale is made.  It is still the buyer that must pay the tax to their state.  Only now they pay it through the seller or market facilitator rather paying it directly to their state.

Of course, I don't expect you to take my word for any of this.  I advise you to check with your department of revenue or tax professional for full details.