So Ebay is charging tax on used products being sold? It's a Internet Yard Sale...Why Tax?

when I buy records from England and have them shipped to me in Canada, the auto shipping label is from a company called "Pinty Bowls" in the us.
Why do I have to send them $38 to cover American brokerage fees.
The records never went into or out of the us.

I no longer buy from anyone that uses "Pinty Bowls" shipping labels.

DJ Ricky B said:

I don't like the new laws that everything sold on the internet has to have sales tax associated with it. Cash grab by government. Before with the loop hole, taxes were not assessed on used items, and new items sold out of state. That is how it should have REMAINED!

Now, I just sold 4 up lights and a carry case on Ebay. This is used stuff. I already paid taxes on it when I bought it! Why does the customer who is buying something being resold on a internet yard sale website need to pay a sales tax again? It's not like it's a CAR or major purchase.

IF I were to sell this on Facebook market place or Craigslist there is no tax. So why is Ebay required to charge tax? I say it's a bunch of BS!

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I think this has more to do with the buyers state laws than with eBay, other than them following those laws. I just sold 8 items on eBay in the last month and didn’t see anything about taxes.

A couple things ruined Ebay...

first people started abusing the fact that ebay didnt take a cut of shipping...they would sell stuff for a dollar and charge 50 dollars to ship it...pocketing the extra money and Ebay couldnt take a piece....So ebay started taking a piece of EVERYTHING...So now when you get the exact amount needed for shipping Ebay is taking a percentage...so you have to dip into any profit to pay shipping...

secondly ...Companies both big and small started taking over... selling their wares and drawing attention away from the yard sale/auction fun of Ebay... They enjoyed all the tax loopholes until...ofcourse... The govt found a way to course correct...

and here we are...

cc

The laws vary from state-to-state. In Washington State sales tax is charged on retail sales of "tangible personal property" so it doesn't matter if it's used or new. Fortunately our tax laws consider many services, including DJing, to be sales tax free since there is no "tangible personal property" exchanged as long as you aren't providing glow sticks or other items. Whereas they got smart and realized when my wife delivers photos from her photography business digitally that is infact a tangible item (a collection of 1s and 0s) and therefor she has to charge sales tax. A LOT of photographers here don't know that and are surprised when they have to pay sales tax to the department of revenue in January.

As Chris said, that rule started right around the time that businesses started selling stuff.

As for Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist....
they aren't really involved in the actual transfer of money...
they simple make a connection between a buyer and a seller.

I’m not seeing tax on all my purchases on eBay but definitely from majors sellers. I am seeing the tariff tax on all items coming in from China. The tariff tax looks
to be around 10% but my last purchase was months ago. It may be higher now. It is billed as a separate lines on my eBay account, So sellers in China aren’t paying it. When I can I try to make larger purchases in Delaware which has no sale tax. Since I frequently head down to MD it’s a convenience stop. I believe New Hampshire is the same. I try to make sure I have a list every time I go through the states.

There are two variations of this tax - which is applied at the State level:

Sales tax - collected by the retailer at the point of sale
Use tax - paid by the consumer for instances where a sales tax was not collected on goods "used" in your home state. The use tax is the State's way of making you pay the sales tax on goods purchased out of state or from a non-registered seller. If you "use" it the state then you owe a use tax (conveniently equal to the sales tax you avoided.)

It's very difficult for a state revenue agency to pursue a use tax case against individuals. Most individuals rarely pay their state "use taxes." Buying out of state was never an "exception" - it has always been an evasion of the tax which the State's were powerless to resolve. The federal government's long time position was in favor of interstate commerce and so, no state was expected to act as a collection agent for any neighboring state.

Businesses on the other hand, have always been a prime target for use tax audits by state revenue departments. A Businesses might buy an entire building's worth of office furniture and if supplied from out of state would represent a very large sales or use tax bill. Businesses getting burned over use taxes is very common.

Today - enter the internet and state governments that more closely resemble the protection rackets of organized crime - and the new Federal position is that all interstate retailers must collect and pay the sales tax for each state to which they ship products. The Federal government now protects interstate taxation rather than promoting interstate commerce.

DJ Ricky B said:

I have another thing to Rant about while I am on my soap box!

TOILET PAPER.

I stopped by Big Lots tonight to buy a Mega Pack of TP which I do every 3 weeks. That was all I bought. I had to pay sales tax on it! I don't think about the tax onTP when I buy multiple things, but I am pissed that the government is MAKING MONEY EVERY TIME WE WIPE OUR ASSES!

That is BS. Toilet Paper IS NOT a luxury any more. Maybe 80 years ago it was. Today, it's a necessity just like MILK, and Milk and many other foods are not taxed.



Actually, I believe TP is more vital at least to adults. Adults can stand to consume less dairy. We need TP though!

...Besides we are already taxed on our income before we spend it. They can give us tax free TP!

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You feel that way. Then why not write the government and tell them your gripe. See how far you get.

Quit your winning!

DJ Ricky B said:

Toilet Paper IS NOT a luxury any more. Maybe 80 years ago it was. Today, it's a necessity just like MILK, and Milk and many other foods are not taxed.

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Wiping your butt may be a necessity....
but using toilet paper to do the job is not.

I’m all for paying taxes. I’m just sick and tired of all of the waste and tomfoolery that goes on.

In Ohio, they started a lottery in the mid 70’s. All of the profits would go for education. Who can be against that?

the money did...and still does go for education. They just took funds that were going to education and used them for something else. The net result were schools were actually getting LESS money and parents had to pay more out of pocket.

How's about selling the stuff you want to sell on Market Place or Craigslist till they catch on.

If you want better government then vote and lobby to eliminate taxation wherever you find it.

The more taxes you pay, the more government employees you are supporting. More government employees = more people creating more ways to confiscate your income. STOP FEEDING THE BEAST. Voting Democrat or Republican is of no consequence if you are not taking every opportunity to actively protest taxes and fees.

You do realize your are supposed to report those purchases and pay taxes on them to your state, don’t be like mix