anyone else get this email?

[evry1nositswindy]

I got this email about eBay and taxes.  Did anyone else get it too?  It says it is from eBay, but pf course I didn't respond to it.    Legit?

Hello eBay Seller,

Imagine selling a few items to clear out your basement and garage and getting hit with another IRS 1099-K form when you file your taxes.

Small businesses and casual online sellers have enough complexity in their lives already. Now, a provision tucked into legislation passed earlier this year will require millions of Americans to receive confusing and burdensome tax forms for the sale of used or pre-owned goods.

Here's the kicker: this may even impact sales that are non-taxable events!

The impact of this change will be that casual sellers – everyday people supplementing their income to support their families – will now receive confusing tax forms intended for actual businesses.

We need your help to change this law immediately.

Treating casual sellers like established businesses for tax purposes makes no sense. If you are interested in getting more involved in this issue, please respond to this email and a member of eBay’s Government Relations team will contact you shortly.

It will only take a few minutes and help people protect their privacy and avoid unnecessary and complicated tax burdens.

Best,

Christiana Meyers

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Christiana Meyers

U.S. Advocacy and Policy Programs eBay GR

[chapeau-noir]

Check the source code.

[ckimodog]

I have also received one of those...one from the State Senator and the other from a Congresswoman and actually got a hard letter from her in DC...I think they are  trying to help us....we'll see. 

[ckimodog]

I just googled her name...not finding a lot about her. hmmmmm?

[ckimodog]

Ok...found it...www.linkedin.com/in/christiana-meyers

[nobody*s_perfect]

"The impact of this change will be that casual sellers – everyday people supplementing their income to support their families – will now receive confusing tax forms intended for actual businesses."

This is not true.  The 1099-K form is for anybody who passes the thresholds, whether they're a business or a hobbyist.

And the main thing is that from the tax payer's perspective, it doesn't matter whether or not they get a 1099-K -- it doesn't affect what income they should report.  It's just a way of catching tax evaders.  Several states had already lowered the threshold to $600.

[maxine*j]

There is an eBay Government Relations team:

https://www.ebayinc.com/company/government-relations/

And here is Christiana Mayers LinkedIn page, which gives info on her eBay work:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiana-meyers

So the message may be legit.  I didn't get it.

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[maxine*j]

Ignore misspelling of Meyers name in my post.  It's correct in the link.

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[iart]

"Casual" sellers? You mean tax cheaters?

[maxine*j]

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@iart wrote:

"Casual" sellers? You mean tax cheaters?

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Of course. 

eBay and all the other big "marketplace facilitators" fought hard against the states, for years, so as to not have to collect and remit sales taxes, but they finally lost in the Supreme Court.  They not only didn't want the hassle, they knew that avoiding sales tax was one of the things that drove internet sales.

They'll fight against this move by the federal government to collect more income tax for the same reasons of its being a hassle and that income tax avoidance is one of the things that drives internet sales.

In short, neither eBay nor any of the other big guys mind being a part of the untaxed underground economy, because it is good for them, athough of course they will comply with the feds if they must, just as they complied with the states when they finally had to.

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[eleanor*rigby]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

"The impact of this change will be that casual sellers – everyday people supplementing their income to support their families – will now receive confusing tax forms intended for actual businesses."

This is not true.  The 1099-K form is for anybody who passes the thresholds, whether they're a business or a hobbyist.

And the main thing is that from the tax payer's perspective, it doesn't matter whether or not they get a 1099-K -- it doesn't affect what income they should report.  It's just a way of catching tax evaders.  Several states had already lowered the threshold to $600.

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There really seems to be a lot of misunderstanding in this thread and on the discussion boards in general about the difference between the issuance of a 1099-K and a person's responsibility to report income. 

Instead of sending misleading emails, eBay should consider sending correct information about 1099-Ks.

[evry1nositswindy]

What is a source code?  Usually when I get an email from eBay I also get an official eBay message.  Not this time, which was why I was suspicious.  I already use a schedule c, so I'm not worried about that.

[chapeau-noir]

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@evry1nositswindy wrote:

What is a source code?  Usually when I get an email from eBay I also get an official eBay message.  Not this time, which was why I was suspicious.  I already use a schedule c, so I'm not worried about that.

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@evry1nositswindy   The method of doing so is different in different email clients/web mail, but basically it's viewing the header coding that says actually *where* the email comes from and is a one way of checking authenticity.  If you see email with all the eBay headers, etc., but viewing the full header (i.e., the code) shows you XYZ.ru, for instance, you know that it's a spoof, because it's the wrong domain. It's the first thing I do when I get oddball stuff like this.

[maxine*j]

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@evry1nositswindy wrote:

What is a source code?  Usually when I get an email from eBay I also get an official eBay message.  Not this time, which was why I was suspicious.  I already use a schedule c, so I'm not worried about that.

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In most email handlers, you can view the source code without opening the message, and that's a good thing to do if you're in doubt about a message.  Usually the option is under the "View" menu, but you can look around elsewhere if you don't find it there.  It will say "Message Source," or similar.  With it you can see the nuts and bolts of where something actually came from and other vital info.

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[caldreamer]

Clearly this sounds like spam email....especially the part about "member of EBAY Govt Relations team will contact you shortly".