eBay is illegally charging tax on used items

[navom1]

In most if not all states, there is no tax on second hand items.  eBay is illegally taking our money.  I have tried this in two different states that both have no tax on second hand items, and I was still charged.

[soh.maryl]

Don't believe this discussion involves states that have no state sales tax whatsoever.

Someone claimed that most states differentiate between used and new when charging state sales tax and do not charge state sales tax on used items.  Asked the poster which states those are, but, so far, no answer.

[inhawaii]

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@navom1 wrote:

In most if not all states, there is no tax on second hand items.  eBay is illegally taking our money.  I have tried this in two different states that both have no tax on second hand items, and I was still charged.

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If someone was "illegally" taking money from me,

I would file a police report and take them to court.

[soh.maryl]

It seems like you are confusing two different things here.

eBay does not charge taxes on anything.  The state to which the buyer has his purchases shipped charges state sales tax. eBay collects it and remits those funds to the appropriate state.

eBay charges its FINAL VALUE FEE to the seller on the seller's sales.  That FVF is calculated on the item price, the shipping and the state sales tax, if any.

State sales tax and final value fee are two distinct and different things.

The buyer pays the state sales tax to eBay.  eBay forwards  it to the appropriate state.

The seller pays the final value fee to eBay and that fee is calculated on the amount paid the seller by the buyer.  That fee is what enables eBay to continue operations and satisfy its stockholders.  

[onefootflipper]

A lot of states actually call buying something on the internet a "use tax" specifically so they could mislead the voters into approving it.

In any case, ebay is only collecting what it is forced to collect, the same as every other website is.

[onarklog]

Can anyone read on this thread? OP literally said "USED ITEMS" and most of you are blabbing about general sales tax. He is complaining that USED items he buys on eBay are being taxed and they shouldn't. I know that states do require that now, eBay only collects it, but its pure greed and we(ALL OF US), from any state in USA, shouldn't be paying some IMAGINARY FEE on USED ITEMS. Used cellphones, used cameras, used headphones and so on. Just few years ago, we were not paying for those. 

[7606dennis]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

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@evry1nositswindy wrote:

@wrong66  No it is the carbonation.  I worked at a grocery store many years ago and this is how it was (and is) in Ohio.  Could be different in other states, but I doubt it.     

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In Massachusetts, beverages are not taxed regardless of carbonation.  Food is food, even if it's junk food.

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I'm not sure of Massachusetts but in some states, such as Florida, bottled water becomes taxable if any type of flavoring is added to it when bottling. 

[theteamsetguy]

Onarklog,

when you buy a used car, motorcycle, boat, and you have always had to pay sales tax whether you bought it from a dealer or from a private party. 

The only reason why it was not collected before was online sales in the past were a lot less than they are now. The states were losing too much tax revenue to brick and mortar sales that went online. 

[monica-sells]

I just bought a speaker on ebay  last week. It is used. Except for my State Sales Tax, I was not "taxed"...what are you blabbing about?

[ashapasha_2007]

I also get taxed on used items purchased on eBay. 
Some states are “required” to tax used items on .eBay.

[donsdetour]

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@onarklog wrote:

Can anyone read on this thread? OP literally said "USED ITEMS" and most of you are blabbing about general sales tax. He is complaining that USED items he buys on eBay are being taxed and they shouldn't. I know that states do require that now, eBay only collects it, but its pure greed and we(ALL OF US), from any state in USA, shouldn't be paying some IMAGINARY FEE on USED ITEMS. Used cellphones, used cameras, used headphones and so on. Just few years ago, we were not paying for those. 

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The tax is not on the item used or new: it is on the sale of item (transaction) normally called SALES tax.

The item being used has no difference to this.

For that mater unless you can prove what the used item cost originally or what it cost you used: if that sale shows in the end that you made a profit on said item: you owe income tax on it also.

Very few items them selves are taxed; That seems to confuse a great many folks.

[456mainstreetshopping]

Ebay used to be tax free unless you were a brick and mortar store, then you payed sales tax to your state where the store was located. Right before COVID hit our shores, in Dec 2019 the supreme court made a ruling that sales tax can be claimed by the states for all online transactions. 6 months later we had lockdowns because of a COVID scare. Everyone was buying online and having things delivered. USPS was esstenial to get the deliveries to the buyers.  Nobody really noticed the extra taxation because items were selling briskly. However, as in person buying went back to normal , online resellers of used items have dropped. Who wants to pay extra, a sales tax 7 % to 10%  + a shipping charge on preowned items when you didnt have to preCOVID. This is really hurting sellers with preowned items with no brick and mortar store. It appears the government was planning lockdowns and wanted to assure continue flow of tax revenue during these lockdowns.  Hey, supreme court the lockdowns are over resellers want to get back to normal too!

[Anonymous]

No, I don't shop in thrift stores. No, I don't pay taxes on anything that's already been taxed. No, I don't pay tax on a used car. You're spreading some really inaccurate information!

[pjcdn2005]

Mods, perhaps you could close this 8 month old thread?

[ckimodog]

@pjcdn2005 

Thank you. The person who posted this hasn't had any sales in over a year.

[corwin86]

Without reading your Supreme court decision referenced. 

I can understand charging sales taxes on registered business transactions. Your examples, car dealership, used cars, thrift stores, these businesses have a registered business identification number. 

However, garage sales, personal sales, were never taxed twice, autos limited by age, family, transfers in my neck of the woods. 

Legality???? Not a tax attorney.  But, i think it is just wrong to charge sales tax more than once on any private sale.