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Just saw my first automatic state sales tax on eBay
EagleEye
Posts: 7,676 ✭✭✭✭✭
A fellow in Washington state ordered a quarter eagle yesterday and it invoiced without sales tax. Today he ordered a second one and wholla!, it tacked on 10% to the eBay invoice. This was a grayed out field that could not be edited by me.
Rick Snow, Eagle Eye Rare Coins, Inc.Check out my new web site:
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Yes, I ordered some blood type patches a few days ago... and sales tax was added... would not normally have been.... and a private seller as well. Cheers, RickO
Who is collecting the tax to turn over to the state/county/city, eBay or the seller?
Ebay
Here’s the link to eBay’s explanation:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/taxes-import-charges?id=4121
Damn it! I guess I need to make any significant purchases there prior to July 1, 2019....
Successful BST Transactions: erwindoc, VTchaser, moursund, robkool, RelicKING, Herb_T, Meltdown
It was only a matter of time before this happened. Too much sales, and thus the tax base, has shifted online.
Thank you. I'm not a lawyer, and I don't play one on TV, but my argument would be that I didn't but anything from eBay, therefore they can't charge me tax.
This is a money making proposition for eBay. In my state, retail businesses keep a percentage of the taxes they collect for administrative purposes incurred submitting the collected taxes to the government.
Good thing you aren't a lawyer. The States involved have passed laws that force Ebay and Amazon to do this
No taxation without representation!
It's a screwup then, as, if his address on file is Washington State, we don't have sales tax on coins/bullion.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
Passing laws doesn't make it right or constitutional.
I always HATED in the Army taking guys to a court marital for trial who had gotten SUPERB advice from the barracks lawyers.
The Army's case was &(%#*, don't plead out to a lesser charge, you are going to make those officer's heads swim.
Great advice from the barracks lawyers, as the defendant would get convicted and sent to the stockade or Leavenworth.
Lets see you pay 10% sales tax and when you go to sell you pay Ebay 10% Vig. Ouch 20%
ernment.
Actually, the Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional - which is why the States did it. But the point was that it was NOT eBay's idea. eBay fought the internet sales tax for years
Curious are the states on the list linked above ones with high income tax rates and/or tolls as well? I'm in IL and pay a nice 5% income tax + insanely high tolls yet somehow they're not one of the states where this sales tax applies - seems out of character for them.
Washington state does not have a sales tax on collectable coins
So no sale tax is due the state. Who keeps the 10%?
Martin
Probably a good time to liquidate. Transaction costs have taken out the magic goose.
Pre sales tax and when fees were low, you could buy a coin just to check it out. Flip it if you wanted for maybe a 5% cost.
Now it is 20 or 25 %.
We are getting back to the brick and mortar days where you bought and held for a long time.
I believe he (the buyer in Washington) bought it from Rick Snow (seller in Arizona.)
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
The problem is that the outlook for the long term hold looks dismal. There's more trouble in River City, more terrible trouble!
Now I'm scratching my head is e bay paying AZ or where the goods were delivered. In Washington if you buy a product in OR and bring it back to WA you are liable to pay WA If an ore buyer buys a taxable product and takes it back to OR no tax is due. Just bought a car in ID did not pay sale tax in ID but had to pay it in WA. So the question is is the tax due in tbe state the product is sold in or the state delivered too?
Martin
Ps this the most I've typed on a phone ever. Excuse the typos and old fat fingers
The Supreme Court long ago veered from their constitutional duties and now legislate from the bench. I don't wish to get into a political discussion here so this is the last I'll comment on this subject.
It's Washington State sales taxes charged where the buyer resides. That's how all these new State sales taxes are designed to work
May or may not be true. Problem is a guy that wants to sell off a set of Indian Cents and collect Trade Dollars, the once reasonable cost of doing so are now prohibitive. Of course the sun is always shining brightly in error coin land.
Just wait.
Let's not poke the fat Illinois tax bear, please!
I lived in Chicago for a few years, and so far coins and bullion are exempt from sales taxes- I believe the sales tax has soared to over 10% in Chicago! SSShhh Don't give them any ideas as the hopelessly corrupt government there has yet to see a revenue source they don't like.
Possibly coin shows will become more popular as a bright spot in this gov't fubar. I loved going to shows and used to get a table at some of the shows in the N. IL area. A big negative of living abroad is I am unable to attend these shows.
God bless the Commonwealth and god bless eBay. Still tax free on coins and bullion
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
WA State gets it. WA State has a destination type sales tax meaning the sales tax rate is based upon where the item is delivered (where the buyer takes possession of it). I recently talked with the WA State Dept. of Revenue about being overcharged sales tax (instate seller charged their local rate rather than my rate) and was informed the state would collect what he charged when he filed his return - if he coded the sale incorrectly using his location as the point of sale. Otherwise, the seller would not remit it, if coded correctly, and he should refund the overpayment.
Yeah, right - refund it!!! BS!!!
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. (Let me clarify). I was referring to Joe Public as the nicer guy
eBay is only an agent collecting for the states. They are in the best position to do this. It only makes sense that "tax collectors" be reimbursed for "administrative" expenses. Does someone like WalMart eat the CC fee when they collect ST and I pay with a CC or do the CC companies waive the fee when a merchant collects taxes?
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
eBay should have a system setup to refund those taxes I would think. It was discussed here in another thread recently.
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
It say EBay collects the tax but the seller is responsible for sending the payment to the states.
Kathy says
If the tax is not required the seller should refund the customer the tax back then no filing or forwarding of the funds will be required.
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
Per eBay:
"Based on applicable tax laws, eBay will calculate, collect, and remit sales tax on behalf of sellers for items shipped to customers in the following states:
Minnesota
Washington
Iowa
Connecticut
New Jersey
Alabama
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania"
with various implementation dates. Hopefully in the case of WA State, the are collecting and remitting the proper amount and frankly, if sales tax has to be collected, I am glad they are doing it. WA State has hundreds of different rates and remittance codes! It is ridicules!!!
Not always true. But I am just the dumb accountant filing the returns and sending the payment for some of those folks.
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
And specifically; "What is the terrible trouble?"
eBay adds sales tax on where required and it is paid by the buyer via PayPal. PayPal then send the tax money back to eBay and eBay sends it to the proper states.
With the new HIGHER SHIPPING RATES and the sales taxes added on it looks like it may be a tougher ride to make a profit on ebay . Now the shipping and ebay fees on some of my 8 coin sets is 29% of the cost to my customers. Not much room left for profit. Will be worse later this summer when ebay goes to the zone dim crap.
If you are talking about postal rate zones they already started. I noticed that shipping today. 4 oz package to Jacksonville Fl. $2.68, to Indiana $2.70, and to Texas $2.76.
Fewer collectors ... pure and simple. Some don't want to believe this and that is fine with me. They should just keep on buying and wait for the next big coin boom.
Think of the poor sap buying to try to resell. Also your LCS just sees it as less competition.
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
A lot is changing that's for sure. Will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.
This just means that I will have to be considering pieces that are rare and desirable enough that make paying sales tax irrelevant going forward with eBay.
e bay is going to have to do more 15 percent off everything coupons to make up for the lost sales from the new sales tax
Same in NY
They may lose zero sales. The buyers in those states don't have much recourse: pay the sales tax at home or pay it on the internet.
So they're going to lose a little on every sale, but make it up in volume?
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
In spite of the taxes there are almost always betters prices elsewhere if one looks around. For low cost items and I'm not in a hurry, I'd just as soon buy local. At a nearby Sportsman's warehouse store a 100 count box of bullets was $40 plus tax. Mail order they were $27 plus shipping so on 2 boxes with $8 shipping it was $31 per box. Even with tax [of which there wasn't any] the mail order was still a better deal. IT PAYS TO SHOP AROUND.
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
I don't disagree. However, the eBay point is that if you are in a state that charges sales tax, you are going to pay it in both locations (internet and local)
It depends on the specific State. These are individual State laws not a Federal law.
As of now, NY has not passed a internet sales tax. They probably will, but we're just slow
From what I understand, It's $100,000 ... with 200 or more sales.
https://files.taxfoundation.org/20180412152356/Tax-Foundation-FF579.pdf
The below web site is more current: "Economic nexus laws don’t only affect large internet retailers. Many states sales tax economic nexus policies have a threshold of 200 transactions or $100,000 in sales in the current or previous calendar year. That means they can apply to many small to medium-sized businesses."
https://www.manta.com/resources/small-business-advice/new-sales-tax-rules-affect-smb/?dest=/resources/small-business-advice/new-sales-tax-rules-affect-smb/&dest=/resources/small-business-advice/new-sales-tax-rules-affect-smb/?dest=/resources/small-business-advice/new-sales-tax-rules-affect-smb/