Why is eBay charging me taxes on clothing bought here? clothing is exempt in MN

[imakesugar]

I bought over $150. on clothing for Christmas this year. 

https://www.salestaxhandbook.com/minnesota/sales-tax-taxability#taxability

Items exempt in the state of MN are...Clothing, Groceries, (except junk food or HOT deli,), medical devices, medical services, medicines, Raw materials for manufacturing goods, (beads for Sellers who make jewelry?), motor vehicles used in a trade for another car, General or occasional sales, and Custom software delivered by media or downloaded. 

"In the state of Minnesota, sales tax is legally required to be collected from all tangible, physical products being sold to a consumer. Several examples of exceptions to this tax are products intended for babies, clothes, and over the counter medications."

Are shipping & handling subject to sales tax in Minnesota?

In the state of Minnesota, the laws regarding tax on shipping and handling costs are relatively simple. Essentially, if the item being shipped to the buyer is considered to be taxable then the shipping cost is usually considered to be taxable as well, and if the item being shipped is not taxable, then the shipping cost is not considered taxable either. If both taxable and non-taxable items are being shipped together, the percentage(based on the sale price or weight of the item or items in question) of the shipping charge that relates to the taxable items must be taxed.

Are drop shipments subject to sales tax in Minnesota?

"Dropshipping" refers to the common business practice in which a vendor, often in a different state, makes a sale of a product that is shipped to the end-user by a third party supplier hired by the initial vendor. In Minnesota, drop shipments are generally subject to state sales taxes.

So, I wonder how I can get back sales tax taken from ME illegally By eBay? 

[nobody*s_perfect]

eBay's determination about sales tax is based on category, since they can't possibly evaluate every single item.  In a state where clothing isn't taxable, eBay wouldn't charge tax for items sold in the clothing category. But if an item is listed in a taxable category such as sports memorabilia, it will be taxed.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Someone posted the other day that they called eBay and were promised a refund of the sales tax. I can’t remember from they posted it actually happened.

[luckythewinner]

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@imakesugar wrote:

So, I wonder how I can get back sales tax taken from ME illegally By eBay? 

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Have you read the full text of the MN marketplace facilitator law to see if this situation has been superceded by the new law?

I'm not saying you are wrong, but it is possible that eBay is not breaking the law and that it is up to the taxpayer to take action to recover the sales tax.

[splurce]

I have encountered the same issue. Ebay collects sales tax on clothing even though they know it is not taxable. I suspect that even though they collect the sales tax, it is not remitted to the State of Minnesota. It is kept as income by ebay. I have called several times and am told that their crack team of tax experts is 2 months behind due to all of the errors in their software system.

I would report the issue to the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Evidently they are planning a sales tax audit of ebay due to multiple complaints of unauthorized tax collection.

[ed8108]

You can report to your state sales tax authority as a violation of the sales tax law

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

What category was the clothing listed in?

You are accusing eBay of large scale fraud. Do you think eBay and the state have no auditors? Stealing sales tax would be a HUGE scandal and would likely sink the company. Remember Enron? I keep seeing this posted by people who hate and mistrust eBay. It makes no sense. They’re guilty of doing a lot of things I don’t like but huge scale fraud against the government is ludicrous.