Internet tax death of ebay

[warren689]

WOW, Just WOW.  Used clothing being taxed. Items from China being taxed. Who on earth is going to buy used clothing or poor quality items from China that can't be returned when you have to pay $20 tax? I mean for real?   Why is used stuff being taxed when it was taxed the first time it was sold? What's next? Will Garage sales charge tax?  I can't believe our elected officials allowed this to happen. I can understand tax on large businesses but small time people selling used stuff out of their closet is crazy.

[slippinjimmy]

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@davidinnl wrote:
In Europe VAT on used good is only charged on the profit made on selling . If you bought something last year for $100 then sell it for $50 there is no tax. If you sell it for $110 then the VAT is only charged on $10.

If you want to treat me like a business and charge me tax for selling something I should be allowed to take a tax deduction if the sale is for less than I purchased it for.

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I'm not sure you understand the massive difference between US style Sales Tax and the Value Added Tax system used in most of the rest of the world.

There are pluses and minuses for both systems, in general Value Added is better for businesses worse for consumers and raises huge amounts of revenue for governments. Sales Tax is better for consumers, worse for businesses (especially for start ups or established but not profitable) and raises less money for governments. In the US situation where each state and local government sets their own rates and policies Sales Tax is insanely complex and unwieldy compared to national VAT plans.

[enriquezr1]

I will never SALE ANYTHING ON EBAY RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF MONEY THEY COLLECT TAXES OVER TAXES.

[writebrad]

I have stopped shopping on ebay because of the tax. I do not think it gets back to my State anyway.  and The range of the tax they charge is not even close to what my State lists the tax rate. Then I look at the sellers State and it still does not match up. 

I will just use Amazon and buy new. They charge tax but at the correct rate. Esty is also a good alternative to ebay.

[soh.maryl]

The tax is on the transaction, not the item.

In your state, do you not pay state sales tax when you shop at Goodwill or other thrift stores?

What about buying a used car?

[soh.maryl]

Just curious, if/when you shop at WalMart or Target, do you feel it's your duty to resist paying state sales tax?

And, if so, how does that work out for you? 

[mam98031]

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@writebrad wrote:

I have stopped shopping on ebay because of the tax. I do not think it gets back to my State anyway.  and The range of the tax they charge is not even close to what my State lists the tax rate. Then I look at the sellers State and it still does not match up. 

I will just use Amazon and buy new. They charge tax but at the correct rate. Esty is also a good alternative to ebay.

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@writebrad 

Check the ship to address your are using.  Is it five digit or nine digit?  If you have it set up with the 5 digit zip code then Ebay or any other site would charge you the rate YOUR state has told them to charge for those addresses with 5 digit zips.  For a more accurate rate by were you actually live inside your state, you need to be using the 9 digit zip code.  Then they can zero in on what part of the state you are in for a more accurate rate to where you live.

All sites use the same method on this.  Seems you are blaming Ebay for something they aren't doing wrong or you simply misunderstand.

[chapeau-noir]

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@writebrad wrote:

I have stopped shopping on ebay because of the tax. I do not think it gets back to my State anyway.  and The range of the tax they charge is not even close to what my State lists the tax rate. Then I look at the sellers State and it still does not match up. 

I will just use Amazon and buy new. They charge tax but at the correct rate. Esty is also a good alternative to ebay.

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Don't kid yourself.  If those taxes were not remitted to the states, eBay would be in court STAT. 

There are something like 45,000 tax jurisdictions in the US with variable municipal taxes which change the amount of tax levied - it's impossible to just 'know' the rate by looking at the state - as @mam98031 says, be careful to use the long-form zip code.

[fivestarrfreelance_6]

Used items are taxed when the seller is an actual reseller registered as such with their state. Many people on ebay are just Joe Schmoe who had an old cookie jar lying around his house that he put up for sell. Joe Schmoe is not a reseller, he sells things once in a blue moon, maybe once a year. Joe Schmoe is not registered with his state as a reseller and thus the same rules do not apply and tax should not be collected. That is not difficult to comprehend. If you're on eBay as an actual reseller and as is required to be a reseller you must register with your state then yes of course tax should be collected. I am not a reseller. You do not have to be a reseller to sell an item from your closet once a year, thus you do not have to register with your state because you are not a reseller. you are not in the business of reselling things, you just sell something once in a blue moon. Tax should not be collected.

[mam98031]

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@fivestarrfreelance_6 wrote:

Used items are taxed when the seller is an actual reseller registered as such with their state. Many people on ebay are just Joe Schmoe who had an old cookie jar lying around his house that he put up for sell. Joe Schmoe is not a reseller, he sells things once in a blue moon, maybe once a year. Joe Schmoe is not registered with his state as a reseller and thus the same rules do not apply and tax should not be collected. That is not difficult to comprehend. If you're on eBay as an actual reseller and as is required to be a reseller you must register with your state then yes of course tax should be collected. I am not a reseller. You do not have to be a reseller to sell an item from your closet once a year, thus you do not have to register with your state because you are not a reseller. you are not in the business of reselling things, you just sell something once in a blue moon. Tax should not be collected.

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If a seller is purchasing stuff on Ebay for resale, they need to register their resale number with Ebay so that they aren't charged sales tax.  Ebay isn't going to go and check with states to see if a buyer has a resale certificate.  That sure would slow down the purchase process as well as being labor intensive on Ebay's part.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/paying-tax-ebay-purchases?id=4771#section2

If you are just a casual seller, then you will need to pay sales tax when sales tax is due.  And make sure that if you go to sell it, you consider all your costs when coming up with the price you want to sell it for.  

The way the sales tax works on Ebay is it is buy category.  So if your seller is listing something you want in a category that is taxable in your state, then you will be charged sales tax, if they list in a category that is not taxable in your state, then sales tax will not apply.  

[chester32005]

This is being enforced at the state level, not federal

[mmodelska68]

Well and tax was paid the first time the item was purchased. Gouging.

[releasethekraken_1]

Necro thread.

[kh-stanley1]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.