eBay going to start collecting sales tax in 2019 for some states
davewesen
Posts: 6,124 ✭✭✭✭✭
the sellers or buyers do not have to do anything, although the buyer pays more if they are shipping to some locations.
Washington—starting Jan 1, 2019
•Pennsylvania— starting July 1, 2019
•Oklahoma—starting July 1, 2019
more jurisdictions will surely follow....
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Sure sounds like the bookkeeping nightmare that some predicted will be taken care of with computer software
Oh boy !!!
Yup. That's why I was never worried about the whole internet sales tax.
Computers can certainly figure out all the thousands of permutations in state/county/municipality sales tax for this item and that, calculate it, collect it and distribute it.
The problem will be keeping said computer informed and updated about all of those permutations. Garbage in, garbage out....
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
and what items are exempt from taxes in that location.
Oh, they'll probably be the next state to join the party. Eventually all the states probably will.
Ugh
Yeah Washington State doe's tax coins or bullion either.
Not really.....
"When a buyer purchases an item on eBay, and the ship to address is one of the above states, eBay will calculate and add the applicable sales tax at checkout. The buyer will pay both the cost of the item along with the sales tax. eBay will collect and remit the tax."
As long as I don't have to collect it I am good.
You mean the same software that has trashed the search feature and makes ended auctions go poof 3 seconds after closing.
I'll let Willie Nelson sing it to you!
I'm in Washington State and coins, currency and bullion are exempt from sales tax. I really hope eBay recognizes this and does not simply implement a blanket tax on ALL items.
I'm so glad my state is the greedy one that will be starting this crap on January 1st. I guess I will do as @FadeToBlack mentioned and get a PO Box in Oregon. I already have to pay state income tax to Oregon for working there, yet I get no representation for that tax money and then I get to pay a sales tax/use tax in Washington on anything I want to buy. Makes me wish I had a ship full of tea to toss into a harbor.
What happens on a return?
I would think the same as any other return,,,,,, eBay would refund the sales tax to the buyer.
Willie use to be such a fine, handsome, upstanding young man,,,,, before he became a pot smoking' tax dodging hippie
Sure they would return it, but would the seller be charged. Will the seller also be charged a final value fee on the sales tax? The do so on shipping.
If an item is returned all fee's and taxes would be refunded to the buyer and the seller, they could not legally keep any of it.
Note to self,
Lower maximum bids on coins from Pennsylvania, Washington, and OK by the amount of the state tax.
Second note,
Same applies to any bullion purchases from these states unless bullion is excluded.
But lets face it, this was going to happen.
And it will spread to other states who are desperate to get more funds to keep their bloated state governments running.
And it will also expose those states with uncompetitive and unsustainable tax rates.
Should be interesting. I buy with my pocketbook.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
Coins and bullion are still exempt from sales tax in Pennsylvania.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/gold/liberty-head-2-1-gold-major-sets/liberty-head-2-1-gold-basic-set-circulation-strikes-1840-1907-cac/alltimeset/268163
my understanding is the tax is on things going into the states, not leaving the states
That is even more interesting, I missed that nuance.
If I were a seller, then I will likely lose business in these three states. Similar logic.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
There is no final value fee on sales tax.
If you live in those states, you have to pay sales tax. So who am I losing the business to? Someone else also charging sales tax? Your only choice is to not buy anything taxable.
As they already do for those of us who collect sales tax now.
One suspects that the buyer requests to bypass Ebay will escalate.
...... and that's the problem with good things. They don't last forever.
OR
Buy from a venue that doesn't collect tax.
Let's face it, most states already have an "honor" system to collect sales taxes from internet purchases. Problem has been it isn't enforced and many people don't declare their out of state purchases because they know they aren't likely to be caught.
Don't get me wrong. This was always going to happen. If nothing more, it levels the playing field between internet sellers who haven't collected sales tax to brick and mortar stores that have had to collect tax.
I am all for a level playing field.
Problem is that some states have low taxes and others have high. The ones with low taxes will have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
It depends on how the states implement those laws. It is not that hard to force virtually everyone to collect the tax by going after the merchant gateways. That'll force you to either deal with small-time sellers who are not using a payment processor or central server system. So, good luck buying from classified ads and facebook posts and paying by money order which gives you no chargeback possibilities.
Yup, in California it will he 896.3% of hammer..
Technically, no. But eBay doesn't seem to have a way to register those.
Currency is not exempt from Washington State sales/use tax.
https://dor.wa.gov/get-form-or-publication/publications-subject/tax-topics/currency-and-coin-sales
There are several commercial software providers that maintain a nation-wide database of state and local tax rates. (Vertex and Avalara are two examples).
I'm surprised that California wasn't first on the list.
Successful transactions with: wondercoin, Tetromibi, PerryHall, PlatinumDuck, JohnMaben/Pegasus Coin & Jewelry, CoinFlip, and coinlieutenant.
Or NY. But I'd be willing to bet it's because NY and California are trying to work out broader enforcement. The states listed seem to essentially be targeting the sales tax collection at only large marketplaces and retailers which is a simpler enforcement scheme. Much easier to just audit Apmex, eBay and Amazon. NY and California probably want to make sure they can get at everybody. LOL
Related to sales tax collection and eBay's ability to implement every municipality's law correctly: I tried to purchase a bullion coin on ebay and they were (rightfully) collecting sales tax on it. So I tried to buy 2 of them to make the purchase price > $1500 and they are still collecting California sales tax. My understand of the law is that coin/bullion purchases with a total greater than $1500 are exempt. Yet this order is clearly being charged sales tax. Am I correct in my analysis of the provided screenshot that ebay is collecting sales tax wrongfully?
Successful transactions with: wondercoin, Tetromibi, PerryHall, PlatinumDuck, JohnMaben/Pegasus Coin & Jewelry, CoinFlip, and coinlieutenant.
I'm not sure you could tell without going through to the payment screen. That tax info bar is just informative.
I also don't know that the exemption applies. The exemption text is below. To my reading, the exemption would only apply if the seller were registered or not required to be registered. So, it's not clear to me that an eBay sale would necessarily merit the exemption in all cases.
See:
boe.ca.gov/lawguides/business/current/btlg/vol1/sutr/1599.html
Thanks @jmlanzaf . I was certainly afraid to hit 'commit to buy' given that it's not clear if the sales tax should/should not and will/will not be charged. So I don't know how it would have played out on the next screen. But certainly something to be aware of as they start collecting sales tax more.
Successful transactions with: wondercoin, Tetromibi, PerryHall, PlatinumDuck, JohnMaben/Pegasus Coin & Jewelry, CoinFlip, and coinlieutenant.
Shoot! I live in Pennsylvania.
No sales tax on the BST.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
When this news first came out, I called eBay immediately as a WA-based seller and buyer. The answer I got (which I bitterly complained about), is that they will simply charge WA tax on every sale to WA, which is a huge problem since I sell and buy almost exclusively items that aren't taxable. I haven't had to worry about collecting sales tax to in-state buyers because there isn't a tax on their purchases. Now eBay might collect it anyway. Plus, if they start charging 10% on bullion that shouldn't be taxed, there goes buying bullion on eBay for me...
Right now, eBay doesn't automatically collect sales tax, so if you're being charged, the seller is collecting and remitting the tax. In this case, if the seller didn't in the $1500 threshold (or it's not possible in eBay's current setup), then you may be incorrectly assessed the tax, but it isn't eBay's fault.
as more states get added, it's just going to be that much harder to sell. as a buyer in a state that doesn't have taxes, it's going to be cherry picking time
Like most gov't edicts, it will be fubar. As much as I despise governments squeezing more and more from the taxpayers, I believe this will be hard on vendors to keep on top of. For example a $50 coin shipped to a tax hell state along with an eight percent sales tax of $4. Item is returned for refund, then reshipped to a tax free state. Appears a lot of work is being placed on small vendors to do the government's work. Until I get moved to a nontaxing state-I currently reside abroad-I am sure I will win a lot fewer items at auction as I plan on reducing bids in the amount of sales tax.