eBay 'tacking on" sales tax

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by TeacFan, May 15, 2019.

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  1. E.Baba

    E.Baba Forum Resident

    Yeah.

    Here in Oz our sales tax (GST) is added by eBay (&Discogs etc) regardless of where the product is purchased from.
     
  2. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    But the issue is the belief that Ebay sends my tax dollars here in California over to somewhere in England. Makes no sense.
     
    PhantomStranger and Matthew Tate like this.
  3. cdash99

    cdash99 Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    I think Dave has this right. A lot of states use the term "Sales and Use" tax. A Use tax is when you purchase something without tax, then bring it home for use, you are theoretically required to self-assess and send the tax to the state. Approximately 17 people in the US actually do this. For people living adjacent to states that don't charge sales tax, like DE and NH in my travels, it's a big issue with the PA, MD, MA politicians.

    What the states are telling eBay and others is that if your UK seller sells something to you in CA, eBay is going to collect CA tax as it's a Use tax and send it off.
     
  4. Mirrorblade.1

    Mirrorblade.1 Forum Resident

    Heres something why don't ebay move from california
    in state where they don't collect online taxes.
     
  5. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    Ok I see. So California gets my tax money for something I ordered online in England. Wow.
     
    melstapler likes this.
  6. glide

    glide Forum Resident

    Location:
    NH, USA
    Discogs got their application of this ruling wrong as well (in the US anyway).

    They do not have a physical presence in every single state, and should not be collecting sales tax on orders. They decided to cave because they do not have the resources to fight overzealous state attorneys general in court.

    And for international sales, they are most certainly not remitting the tax collected to another country. So where is the money going?!
     
  7. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Do you have proof of this or are you just guessing? If that's true then that's a big problem. If they are collecting sales tax on a transaction from a seller in England to a buyer in California, but then keeping the money instead of sending it to the State of California, I think a few stakeholders will have an issue with this...
     
  8. glide

    glide Forum Resident

    Location:
    NH, USA
    I have proof of some online vendors doing this. Not discogs specifically but I imagine them to be in the same boat. Everyone was in such a rush to roll out updates to their systems to be in compliance with certain states, there was little to no thought put into situations like this involving international sellers.

    Think about it; what duty does any individual in the US have to pay a TAX to another country? It's beyond comprehension. Why do you think VAT is removed when purchasing something from the EU in the US?
     
    Matthew Tate, Gumboo and yesstiles like this.
  9. Ctiger2

    Ctiger2 Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    I've stopped buying things off eBay and/or changed my buying habits to avoid paying taxes.
     
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  10. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Ok I think I'm lost here. Are you saying Discogs/eBay are doing the following:

    US buyer buys item from seller based in the UK. Discogs/eBay charge the US buyer UK VAT?

    If that's the case, then this is the first I have heard of it.

    What I was referring to was the marketplace facilitator laws that came into effect which required Discogs/eBay to charge sales tax to US sellers based on their states % rates and remit to those states. I heard nothing about them charging US buyers (I'm in Canada and have not been charged anything either way) tax based on the sellers location outside of the US.
     
  11. Mirrorblade.1

    Mirrorblade.1 Forum Resident

    This is costing a lot ebay sales . a lot sellers are doing well.
    it should be repealed.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  12. E.Baba

    E.Baba Forum Resident

    I leave implementation up to The Australian Tax Office.
    Safe to say very few here are happy about it, but have more pressing concerns.

    As I recall there was protest when ebay started charging fees on total sales value which means paying a fee on the shipping money that goes straight to Australia Post.
     
  13. glide

    glide Forum Resident

    Location:
    NH, USA
    That is correct. Implementation of the collection policy was so rushed and so poor they just collect the sales tax of your home state by default.

    I have had this happen on orders originating from Canada and UK. It is an issue only for orders where the buyer lives in the US. It would not impact you in Canada.

    Edit: also, this is not a VAT issue. It is US state sales tax.
     
  14. glide

    glide Forum Resident

    Location:
    NH, USA
    We get very touchy in the US over taxes. We really pitched a fit last time another country was collecting from us.

    This time it's the other way around.
     
    Matthew Tate and daca like this.
  15. statcat

    statcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    yep noticed a sharp decline in things I sell on there since this happened.
     
    LordThanos1969 and Matthew Tate like this.
  16. ROFLnaked

    ROFLnaked Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    A question on sales tax through eBay (I didn't want to start a new thread)...

    I am percolating on a pair of new-in-box boots from an in-state seller who is charging sales tax, though judging by his other items for sale that run the gamut from baseball cards to used video games to other household items to two pairs of boots, I get the distinct sense he isn't a legitimate store so much as he is a person looking to enhance his bottom line by charging sales tax that will likely go right into his pocket. Short of requesting his business license info, is that just something I will need to accept as a part of buying on eBay?
     
  17. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    In most states you will indeed have to accept paying sales tax as part of buying online, even if the seller is out of state. But it won't go into his pocket, eBay will collect it and remit it to the state.
     
  18. ROFLnaked

    ROFLnaked Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Thanks Mr Totale. So if I am understanding correctly, the sales tax that appears at the end of the transaction automatically gets collected/remitted by eBay, and I can be assured that the seller doesn't have the ability to remit the "tax" into his pocket? This happens to be an in-state sale, by the way.
     
  19. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    Correct.
     
  20. Vanguardsman

    Vanguardsman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Marco Island, FL
    Me too. Wayfair has led to the biggest tax increase in the history of the republic. $700 million per year in FL alone!
     
  21. daca

    daca Currently on Double Secret Probation

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Agree. I have all but boycotted eBay as a result of this. I go there only occasionally, and only for unique items or items I cannot find elsewhere.

    On top of that, excluding the people on the forum that sell on eBay, I trust the grading and packaging of forums members virtually infinitely more than I do the average eBay seller.

    I have lost count of the number of broken cases as a result of someone throwing a CD “naked” in a bubble mailer and thinking it will be protected. :rolleyes:
     
    Dave likes this.
  22. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    Worse, you probably paid VAT on that purchase as well.
     
  23. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    Surely you are not being charged tax since your state tax is 0%.
     
  24. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    Doesn't paypal also include the tax?
     
  25. hvbias

    hvbias Midrange magic

    Location:
    Northeast
    They were always supposed to be collecting it or you were supposed to when it came time to filing taxes. Even going back before 2010 I've had friends in California have to pay tax on purchases from Japan. It seems to be arbitrary when they'd hit you with the taxes (guessing customs only bothered with the paperwork if it was over a certain amount) but I distinctly remember one of my friends complaining about having to pay taxes on Qualia 010 headphones from Japan. It's why places like PriceJapan used to ask if you're buying something from them shipped to the US if they should under declare it, but then you couldn't get it insured.
     
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