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117 Comments
- asif5th, on 10/12/2007, -62/+99***** the IRS.
- jsdratm, on 10/12/2007, -9/+42A lot of the people on ebay are professional sellers and not reporting the income, which is unfair to everyone else that runs a business and actually reports their income (like me). This isn't to target people selling some random crap from their basement. Its to target people that make thousands of dollars and don't report it on their income tax like they should. The fact that the parent comment got so many diggs shows how immature the digg community is.
- SlackerCSB, on 10/12/2007, -18/+49What an immature comment. Nobody likes paying taxes, but atleast have some ethics and be honest about your income.
- rudy23, on 10/12/2007, -2/+331. Paypal fees
2. Ebay Listing Fees
3. Ebay Final price fee.
4. Taxes
Step 5 : LOSS - RedHerringHack, on 10/12/2007, -6/+35Considering the fraud that is rampant on ebay, the IRS will inevitably go after innocent but ignorant users whose accounts have been stolen, but they won't care. Pay up or go to jail. This implies that ebay is going to have to collect SSNs, or investigate backwards through the CC on file, or subpeona ISPs for real identity information. What a mess that will be. Several thousand dollars? Thats nothing. I have already paid the taxes on all of the stuff I sell on ebay anyway. Will I have to prove that I paid the taxes? How far back will they go?
Taxes on virtual items? Will I have to pay real money when I earn that purple item in WoW? This is stupid. - shoelace414, on 10/12/2007, -11/+38I agree, we should raise taxes for those that make a little amount of money, and lower taxes on those making a lot of money.
- rockforever, on 10/12/2007, -11/+38I would love the IRS, too Nodong, but the fact is that the government rarely helps any situation it puts its hand into. Schools, roads, and just about any other public institution is just a beauracracy that ends up being a money pit. Corporations benefit more from the governement.
- trer, on 10/12/2007, -6/+24How about if the gov't stops funneling money into this stupid war which is lining the pockets of Bush and Cheney's frat buddies and maybe they wouldn't need the IRS to scare up money from the common people.
- rholloway, on 10/12/2007, -5/+21***** eBay. Hard. You can sell ***** on Craigslist and have about the same amount of protection.
- metafore, on 10/12/2007, -31/+45***** you, asif5th.
if i have to pay taxes, so should people generating income on ebay.
begin...digg down....now. - justin22290, on 10/12/2007, -6/+19digg me down
- nodong, on 10/12/2007, -55/+67***** you. I like having roads, fire departments, public hospitals and universities. I like the fact that government does what little it does to protect us from corporate polluters and regulates hunting and fishing so their are still going to be some natural resources left for our children. Go live on a deserted island if you despise civilized goods.
- ChumpChief, on 10/12/2007, -12/+24Really, people shouldn't act like taxes are a bad thing when everyone benefits from their uses. If you want to live in a society where people can't read or write, life expectancy is in the mid-30's due to absence of health care, roads are dirt or nonexistant, and looting/rape/murder is a constant fear, then go ahead and try to abolish taxes.
Let me know what you do when some country with their tax-funded military decides they rather like your territory. - Krakn3Dfx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Thank goodness for a smaller, conservative government.
- JangoFett, on 10/12/2007, -0/+111099-B's for everyone!
- SpacemanSpiff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11@RedHerringHack
You've paid local sales tax on the items you sell, not income tax. There's a big difference. - ki1022, on 10/12/2007, -7/+17Yes. Lets pay the government 2 extra billion dollars a year so they can strap it to a shipping pallette and leave it in the desert.
- halik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Yeah I like to take a moment and remind myself of that every time I go to the DMV and pay tax on a used vehicle.
- hansonc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9it wouldn't be a 1099-B it would be a 1099-Misc.
- hansonc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11yes we should certainly tax 100% of earnings of poorer people and only tax the rich on what they spend on goods.
Poorer people spend more of their income on goods than the rich do. The "Fairtax" is regressive in nature and those of you who support it should get your heads out of your asses. - mlavergn, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Before everybody freaks out, here's the deal, if the IRS wants to tax eBay earnings, then sellers need to be able to deduct the cost of goods sold from their income. It's only fair, it has to work both ways. So, in scenario A, if I paid my TV $2500 and I sell it on eBay for $1000, that's a $1500 loss that I get to deduct from my income. Since we can't depreciate assets on our personal income tax, that means the entire $2500 is COGS along with the eBay fees. So I say go ahead IRS, I look forward to claiming these losses against my primary income. Then again, scenario B, if I buy some painting at a garage sale for $1 and sell it for $5000 on eBay, then that's $4999 of income that should be taxed. Personally, I know I've never had a scenario B.
- Ibanezfoo, on 10/12/2007, -9/+16The IRS is freaking out because they are failing. These are the last desperate attempts of a pathetic organization trying to salvage whatever they can...
- Smeed, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11This is like reporting your income from tag sales for most people. Small time sellers dont have anything to worry about.
- fixyourthinking, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12Also ... if I am selling a used item the tax has already been paid ONCE
Further, I thought yard sales were not considered taxable ... eBay is no different than a giant yard sale.
I do agree that if you generate more than $50,000 in INCOME (read as profit) ebay should be required to send tax notices.
I have been claiming my ebay income for years even though I make less than $30,000 from eBay each year. (This past year less than $12,000) - weird0science, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Keep the internet tax-free...why do you think the economy is still alive, despite the fact that it really is weak right now?!!!?
- Sengara, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11Lame. Not the article, the IRS.
- specialedd, on 10/12/2007, -11/+16If you sell stuff from WoW online, you are essentially providing a service for income, your time to get the stuff in exchange for their money.
This is no different from a massage therapist getting taxed on income. Differene is, in a cash business it is easy to avoid records. On ebay, there is nothing but records for the transaction.
As a result of your income, you should be taxed under the current tax code. Bitch all you want. - grastard, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6So now if i want to sell all the junk in my garage and i happen to make over $2k i have to pay the irs? Where does it end?
- specialedd, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10
Shoelace415,
Do you even understand the proposed flat tax system? The one I heard about is still progressive, in the sense that many low income peple pay nothing, middle class pays some, and high income pays flat. Basically everyone gets a standard deduction and the rate is constant after that. You can monkey around with the standard dedcution all you want to set what the rate should be. Make the standard deduction 10k per person and you would only be taxed on income above 40k (at a high rate, probably 40% or more). - kjizzle, on 10/12/2007, -14/+18Stop being such pussies. The fact of the matter is that if you live in this country and make money, the government is entitled to some of it so that it can continue to function (barely). If you don't like it, run for office or vote for a candidate who shares your view of '***** the IRS.' Can't find one? Maybe that's because it's a totally asinine position to take and no one who wants to have their political and/or policy opinions taken seriously would bother making such a statement.
- TroubleInMind, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Huh? Oh. Another one of those guys that thinks he can send mail for free because of some obscure law 150 years ago, that kind of stuff. I got it.
- heptahedron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Yes, it would be a capital loss -- you would need to keep receipts for the purchase in case the IRS doesn't believe you had a loss. You might also need to calculate depreciation on the asset it its not just a collectable item (e.g., If you buy a computer for $2000, use it for 3 years and then sell it for $500, you can't claim a full $1500 loss on it). There are also limits on how much net capital loss you can declare in any one year, but capital losses can offset capital gains in any amount. If you operate your eBay auctions as a business (and declare a loss in some years), you'll need to convince the IRS that you are in it for profit -- they look askance at people that continually claim they have a business that continually loses money year after year.
- Razster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+41099 if you have a license.
Otherwise a 1099-Misc :) Which is something I do all the time for my quick graphical works. - Pestilence, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4HOW MANY TIMES CAN THEY TAX THE SAME DOLLAR???
I pay income tax on my income, I pay sales tax on the ***** I buy with it, and now I have to pay taxes AGAIN on the "income" from selling that same item used on Ebay????????
***** the IRS. ***** them hard in the ass with a ***** cactus! - krewemaynard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Where do YOU live? I'm in the US and I want one of those...
- hansonc, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8this is the best advice I've heard on Digg in a long time. If you don't like how the government works get off your butt and change it. Vote, support like minded candidates (time and/or money) or run for office yourself but complaining on Digg and your Blog aren't going to change the world no matter how much you dream it will.
- AlphaBronco, on 01/25/2009, -4/+7***** anybody that takes wealth under the threat of violence. (commonly known as stealing). All taxation is just legalised theft.
But while we're at it, ***** Ebay too. They deserve to be punished in the marketplace after selling out to support the Internet gambling act, denying competitor payment systems such as e-gold, etc. People that use ebay don't deserve to be *****, but nevertheless I would like to see more free-market internet commerce driven to a de-centralized network of web sites that don't actively advocate for govt protectionism and regulation.
Another benefit is that a decentralized commerce network is less subject to attack by criminal governments muscling in to get their "cut".... just like any other ***** organized criminal racket. - Ibanezfoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Republicans? They suck as much ass as the Democrats. The same candle burning from both sides....
- helboij, on 03/21/2008, -0/+3"eBay is resisting calls for it to file any documents, saying that it does not fit the definition of a broker, and that to selectively target it puts the company at a competitive disadvantage. eBay apparently believes that sellers would go elsewhere if they knew that the government would learn how much they made in a given year."
Taxation is theft, pure and simple. I hope eBay sticks to their guns on this issue, even if their reasoning isn't as complete and logical as I would hope. And eBay is right, alternative services would start taking on those sellers who don't want Uncle S&M stealing their hard earned income. - orderoutofchaos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The income tax and the 1040 form is a fraud. There is no law in the U.S. statutes that indicate you to file a income tax.
MUST SEE MOVIE ABOUT THIS SUBJECT:
Freedom to fascism:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-43127302771752...q=freedom+to+fascism
Theft by deception:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=752175849237001...q=theft+by+deception - TroubleInMind, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5If you sell the used crap in your garage once a year, it's a yard sale.
If you sell crap on EBay in an ongoing fashion as a business entity, you are engaged in commercial activity and thus subject to the same taxes that we all pay.
There is lots of precedent for this. If you sell your old car with a homemade sign in your front yard, you are not an auto dealer. If you have four cars in your front yard all the time and are constantly engaged in selling cars out of your front yard, you are an auto dealer. C'mon, mang. - trer, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Sales tax when you buy the item. Income tax when you sell the item.
Taxed twice for the same item.
I know it's different entities collecting each tax, but the net effect from YOUR perspective is that you're still getting taxed twice, no matter who the money is going to. - Herolint, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Why do you think the government is entitled to anything? Government is an tool that like-minded individuals set up to help them achieve large goals. Government is not an entity that is entitled to anything; at least it shouldn't be.
I don't have a problem paying reasonable amounts of tax to accomplish things that benefit society, but our government is out of control. There are too many bureaucracies that accomplish little, and there are too many social programs that only benefit a few. Also, the government hides taxes from you, so you don't know what you are paying. That is wrong as well.
I'm not against fair taxation, but I am against a government who feels what's mine belongs to them. - DeepDoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@cockaroachie
Have you lost your grip on reality?
This is a move designed to collect taxes that are legally owed by these people.
You can't make this an Anti-Bush thing. If anything Bush has shown himself to be very Anti-Taxes.
No one makes the kind of money on E-bay they are talking about just selling crap out of the garage they were going to throw away anyways. This goes ofter people who are making big money on E-bay selling items and not reporting that profit on their taxes.
I do not know how they plan to enforce it, but it is a good idea since I have to pay taxes on the money I earn, so should everyone else. - mindwalker, on 10/12/2007, -8/+11I agree. ***** 'em. Roads and other services currently performed by the government should be paid for with user fees.
- kenvsryu, on 10/12/2007, -19/+22So if you sold an item at a loss you would be able to claim that?
A flat income tax should be adopted by the govt and there would be no need for the IRS. - zoombusa, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4HAHA the majority of ebay sellers are going to pay tax on stolen goods...
I am for the IRS pursuing this. - LGgeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2and the States will use it to collect sales taxes.
- UnstableMind, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I agree, ***** the IRS, I pay almost 45% of what I make to pay for interest (to the Federal Reserve) to line the pockets of a select few. "income" taxes don't pay for roads, fire departments, public hospitals (don't know any), and universities.....your local property, sales, etc.. taxes do, before you flame somone get your ***** straight...although now I'm flame bait...
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