State of Ohio demanding proof from Seller that eBay paid Sales Tax

[mr_lincoln]

devon@ebay , kyle@ebay 

Good evening guys,

Per the title a Seller in Ohio is reporting that they received official communication from the state and their local Sherrif's office that they need to provide proof that eBay paid Sales Tax on transactions.  This has some pretty far reaching implications for many Sellers if this type of situation has not already been addressed.

The Seller has not gotten any support from eBay which in fact should have records of each and every transaction for every Seller and the tax collected and remitted to the state.

So the question is this, where is the convenient place that a Seller can simply request and receive in a timely fashion the information the state is asking for?   Please note in advance that this is a general question for a specific situations that can - may - is affecting Sellers in Ohio and is NOT account specific so I am not looking for a "have the Seller contact CS" on this one, there should already be a procedure in place OR what is supplied to the state of Ohio providing the proof Sellers (plural) require.  ... 

[redlinear]

eBay is the seller

[yuzuha]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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Is it possible the seller in question had a lot of LOCAL PICKUP sales that carry the possibility of a payment outside Managed Payments, and that is what OH is really looking into?

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This was my first thought. If payment was made in cash, it would be the responsibility of the seller to record and remit the proper sales tax for the transaction.

[deltilogical]

I would expect Ebay would take all required fees from seller acct at some point for a local pickup, including sales tax.   

it is illegal to collect sales tax without first asking permission and getting a sales tax number in every state that requires sales tax - I'd like to know otherwise! 

[wastingtime101]

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@deltilogical wrote:

I would expect Ebay would take all required fees from seller acct at some point for a local pickup, including sales tax.   

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eBay doesn't collect sales tax on local pickup transactions unless they process the buyer's payment. When a local pickup is done with a cash payment, it's up to the seller and buyer to know the laws of their state and make a determination if they need to remit sales tax on the transaction.

But I don't think this discussion is about local pickup sales.

Not directed at you Deltilogical, just a general statement here: I'm surprised at all the backlash questioning the OP.

In any event, this was an interesting discussion to read and there were several posts with great info on how to handle the situation should it happen to another seller. Thanks for posting this, Mr L.

[membersinceaug2001]

The Sheriff will hand deliver court papers to you, at least in Ohio they do.

[monica-sells]

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@membersinceaug2001 wrote:

The Sheriff will hand deliver court papers to you, at least in Ohio they do.

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Exactly what I am saying....

A "Sheriff' will NOT be a participant in "demanding" proof...

it is WAY beyond that point that the sheriff gets involved.......

The sheriff is law enforcement, not tax enforcement...meaning, you broke the law (and if it is tax enforcement it is CIVIL law)....it is not criminal at this point....(yet).

[soh.maryl]

This would not have involved "federal marshals" since the sheriff is usually a county functionary. 

[soh.maryl]

Uh, no I do not think so.  eBay is the Marketplace Facilitator.  There's a significant difference. 

[soh.maryl]

My questioning of the OP was based on the fact that the information quoted was from 2019.  

[monica-sells]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

This would not have involved "federal marshals" since the sheriff is usually a county functionary. 

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correct....sales tax collection is a state function....a vendors license is issued by the county and the county is responsible for the enforcement of the law (not the collection or calculation of said sales taxes)...

[lux-libri]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

This would not have involved "federal marshals" since the sheriff is usually a county functionary. 

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Sorry, that was my attempt at sarcasm.

Point being that a sheriff wouldn't be involved in a simple request for state tax documentation any more than the IRS would involve federal law enforcement when contacting a taxpayer for the first time. 

Unlikely that a sheriff would be part of an initial request for sales tax documentation. That would happen only if the tax situation was advanced well behind the stage of preliminary inquiry. As presented, the story makes it sound as if the "official communication" came out of the blue.  Color me skeptical. 

[soh.maryl]

This whole issue has become so confused and confusing with multiple examples of inaccurate information that I think I believe I need to bow out.  Will, as a final note, repeat a previous statement:  If any state is concerned that a Marketplace Facilitator isn't remitting the collected  funds to the state, wouldn't that MF be the entity to contact?  And would not the MF have more than adequate information to prove their point? 

[spark-chaser1]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

Regarding the state sales tax charged by any state, and collected and remitted by eBay to that state, the seller's location makes no difference.

eBay is required by law to calculate, collect and remit the appropriate state sales tax based on the DELIVERY ADDRESS OF THE BUYER.  That address can be in the same state as the seller's address or a different state, calculation, collection and remission are the same.  

And, again, as mentioned previously, there are 4 or so states that do not actually have a stage sales tax.

Someone will probably come along and tell us which ones they are.  

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New Hampshire does not have a sales tax. 

"Live free or die"

[stainlessenginecovers]

I would simply send the State, the Case # that the USSC passed in 2017/18? and simply state that eBay has been doing this for 4+ years so if you, the State of XX, needs more information- google is your friend. 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I believe this is real & I believe there is a possibly valid reason for a sherriff to be involved.  Surprised in 8 pages that no one has mentioned it.  

OH is the state that there have been a number of posts about with the new auction laws &  I remember posts of people who had spoken to their sherriffs about the new law.  I also recall posts where the state deemed that those selling on Ebay (IIRC even using BIN) are SUBJECT to the new Ohio auction laws.  @mr_lincoln  do you have any info as to whether or not this is related to OH's new auction law?  

If not, I think it's simple, provide proof that OH is a Marketplace Facilitator state & require them to contact Ebay.