@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth I looked at the info on the link you posted. Clear as mud just like most legislative jargon. If I understood it correctly, up until January 1 of this year, the seller, which they term as the "Marketplace Seller," was still required to collect and remit sales tax if the had a nexus in Illinois even with that state's Marketplace Facilitator law. So if eBay was collecting the use tax on a sale by someone located in Illinois to someone located in Illinois, the seller would have been responsible for collecting the sales tax as well as eBay collecting use tax up until 1/1/2020. No chance of that getting screwed up and people being double taxed with that, is there? 😞
I'm afraid I didn't see anything about the difference in the sales vs use tax rates though. I'm wondering if the use tax rate quoted by the OP is the same as Illinois state sales tax rate without the local option taxes included. I'm curious as to whether those buyers would still be liable for local taxes by their city and/or county that they would need to pay to those entities themselves if the Marketplace Facilitator or seller did not collect it? Frankly, I can't believe any politician, worthy of the name in the "Land of Lincoln" would let that tax money slip from their grasp.
The MF law is new. Before the Wayfair ruling, Sales Tax was not collected on interstate sales and Illinois' workaround money grab was to have Use Tax which is charged on anything you bring into the state. Buyers were expected to pay that tax. Recently it was added to IL tax returns to try and get more money.
Most locations in IL do not home rule Use Tax, but Chicago does some of that. They even charge Use Tax separately on cars purchased in-state outside Chicago, when you register them in Chicago.
The base Sales Tax rate is the same as the base Use Tax rate. It's the local home rule Sales Tax at the county and city level that would cause you to be overcharged when they rate by zip.
There are items that are excluded from taxes, such as packing materials and boxes that you use in a resale business (eBay is charging tax on those too), or some types of currency (see the CBS News thread).
If you are a reseller, you can file a registration form with eBay to be flagged tax exempt on your purchases (as a buyer). You would have to remit Use Tax or Sales Tax for anything that is not exempt. There's some sort of process underway to have certain categories tax free at eBay based on state rules, but right now you have to contact them to have the tax reversed.
As far as double taxation goes, eBay is only charging Sales Tax, and the seller would have to invoice the buyer separately for there to be a double charge. I would just let the eBay tax stand until they work it out. If the buyers want to correct it, they can deal with eBay. (My point in posting the OP)
There's also a lot of confusion around when shipping charges are taxable. The rule is they are not-taxable if they are invoiced on a separate line (calculated shipping or surcharge) and will-call/pickup is not offered as an option. Not sure how eBay is doing that one.
