It would be interesting to watch how this battle unfolds as we have interests from traditional brick and mortar retailers who likely supports the IRS move against online auctioners on eBay who have managed to maintain price advantage.

http://www.myauctionfeedback.com/blindauctions/

OH OH OH!!!

So eBay is protecting the interests of it's largest sellers against IRS intrusion???

What happened to "We're just a venue" Meg?

Consider also the fact that this November the current status of Internet sales tax is back up for review. Can you say Internet retail audit? I thought you could.

I've said it before, someone had better step into the gap and inform the fifty states that they are going to take the lead in Internet tax collection and that they will create and administer a fair and workable program to the betterment of the Internet as a whole and then negotiate to make it happen. A gigantic opportunity is right before us with this, unless of course we all sit mute while the government F's it up.

The other option is for each individual state to initiate it's own Internet retail taxation program and if that happens, we may as well shut the whole thing down.

Anyone who thinks the taxing authorities will continue to let the Internet skate on this issue needs to wake up and smell the revenue.

Many items sold through eBay are used. Does this mean live auction estate sales will also be taxed as well?

Not ONE dime of federal income tax goes to the
government. Watch the documentary called "Freedom
to facism."

This won't work. If this succeds then all of those 'power sellers' will find another auction site for them to sell their stuff through. This will only hurt eBay, no wonder they are fighting it.

if the irs wants information ....go on e-bay and monitor the site for big sellers ..don't involve E-BAY..the gambling business' screwed up by allowing the irs to log and document winner's.....to bad IRS go to the casino's and watch first hand .....mr. looser take it on the chin and shut up...next time u might be a winner

I think this idea is great.I am tired of paying all my taxes and then watching "CASH"people getting away with not paying thiers.I don"t like the idea of Bank America giving credit cards to illegals without SS numbers.I think all monies transmitted outside the country to other countries should require a SS number or be subject to 20% withholding refundable if it is shown tax returnswere filed.So why not all of us getting behind "OUR"and demanding that E Bay comply.
PS I don't have problems with illegals who file returns,pay thier taxes and obey the law

As an eBay seller, I would guarantee that we won't let this nonsense go without a fight.

http://www.squidoo.com/ceilingfanbayebay

Maybe it's more politically correct to formally request the data from eBay, but eBay's refusal doesn't necessarily mean the feds aren't harvesting information right off the web.

I'd be surprised if the IRS isn't using a variation of the xenon spider to track eBay transactions, the way other government tax agencies do.


From wired.com:
"Websites around the world are getting a new computerized visitor among the Googlebots and Yahoo web spiders: The taxman. A five-nation tax enforcement cartel has been quietly cracking down on suspected internet tax cheats, using a sophisticated web crawling program to monitor transactions on auction sites, and track operators of online shops, poker and porn sites.

The "Xenon" program -- a reference to the super-bright auto headlights that light up dark places -- was started in The Netherlands in 2004 by the Dutch equivalent of the IRS, Belastingdienst. It has since been expanded and enhanced by international group of tax authorities in Austria, Denmark, Britain and Canada, with the assistance of Amsterdam-based data mining firm Sentient Machine Research.

Xenon is primarily a spider: a program that downloads a web page, then traverses its links and downloads those as well, ad infinitum. In this manner spiders can create huge datasets of web material, while preserving the relationships between pages at the moment they were spidered -- something that can reveal a lot about the people that made the pages.

It's unclear how effective Xenon has been in generating investigative leads. Contacted by Wired News, the tax departments of Canada and the United Kingdom confirmed participation in the program, but declined further comment.

[snip]

In the United States, the IRS is not a part of the Xenon project, but would neither confirm nor deny that it uses spidering software in its investigations."

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/security/1,72564-0.html

And if it does, what a nightmare for any eBay seller whose account was hijacked and used to sell phantom high-end merchandise!

If this goes through, and eBay is forced to turn over the numbers, it will be very very very bad for eBay. There are a lot of sellers out there who claim their income from eBay, but not the majority.

Why do you think so many people sell on ebay?

This is completely ridiculous!!! I hate paying my taxes as much as the next man, but come on IRS do you have to mingle in everything? next you will be taxing us for using "your air" to fart in, this is outrageous!!!!

The problem is that a sale on ebay may not be profitable. If a seller loses money, I guess he would have a tax deduction that is not getting reported now. Also many of the bids, especially power sellers, are fake bids. It is so obvious when they sell a valuable item for one dollar to a bidder with 0 feedback and the item is back up for bid the next day. That is rampant on ebay. So will they have to come clean with Ebay or the IRS? With 5 million items on ebay everyday, how many IRS agents will be assigned to Ebay? The biggest tax scam now is earned income credit. Nobody gets caught on that one and it costs the government billions of fraudulent dollars a year.

So, the IRS cashcow wants more revenue to send abroad. The government needs to stop "forgiving" the debts of other countries (in the billions of $)-this undoubtedly will "slim down" the national debt. The government certainly don't forgive any student loan debts here in the USA, extend medical benefits to all Americans, clean up and assist in disaster areas such Katrina, Pacific coast wildfires, flooding victims in NY, PA, tornado victims in FL, ice storms in the Nation's heartlands, insuffient border security, etc. etc. The government says our economy is good now - perhaps Ebay has helped Americans here. Will the IRS begine cracking down on classified selling ads, garage sales, flea markets, contents of house sales, informal estate sales, tag sales? Americans are taxed on gasoline, heating oil, electricity, gas utilities, telephone service, paper products (such as toilet paper, water utilities, cable, etc. etc. - these are not luxuries, instead necessities. Just what Americans need - to be squeezed for more tax.

This is riddiculous!!! The whole point of ebay is to save money and make money! Sellers are going to have to raise their prices to collect a profit and by the time you factor in the shipping, you mine as well buy whatever your bidding on from a store unless its one of a kind. Its not fair to buyer's like me who live in county's that have no sales tax on clothing purchases. Is it wrong for me to try to save money on clothes? It wont be possible to buy for less if sellers raise their prices to make a profit!

i do not think we should pay taxes,for the items we sell on eBay. because that is our right & pleasure.just like the other auctions places.that is our past time. part of our life style.connie.

Personally I am all in favor of this procedure. Why should those of us who pay our share of taxes subsidize those who circumvent the system by not reporting their income due to cash sales.

Good Ol’ IRS an institution not unlike the Mafia. In fact I would rather deal w/ the mafia then these slime balls. Realize this: every time the IRS institutes a new tax it never goes away. We still pay taxes for wars from the 1800’s, so in the year 2050 when eBay has been replaced we will still pay taxes on that. What the IRS really does is cripple the American worker and spirit! It should be illegal for them to exist!

As a business owner and sole proprietor, I pay enough tax (more than if I made the same amount working for someone else!). I don't get enough benefits from the government to be their constant TAX COLLECTOR also! Besides, in the overwhelming majority of cases, you need a business license to purchase wholesale items. That means that you have a business. which means that if you are not paying taxes and have unexplained income, you will get caught sooner or later. In the last 10 years, businesses have had to double their time investment in preparing taxes. The tax code is frigged up as it stands now. I say, if the govt. wnats to tax the internet, they had better make some concessios elsewhere to ease the burden on its citizens. History is chalk full of governments that started small with the tax and kept going up and up until the proletariats (people) revolted!!! We need to speak up now! Call your congress representatives en masse, barrage them with phone and letter campaigns with your friends and family. Let these fat-cats know that we have had all we can stand!

Remember, 100 years ago, there was no income tax... Government agencies, once created, attain a life of their own. They do whatever it takes to survive. Well, folks, this is a survival game we are playing. Our lives or theirs? You choose.

Make the right decision and fight the good fight!

I am an ebay seller. The individual company should be responsible for paying taxes. Please visit my website http://granitehardwaredesigns.com for the most amazing granite hardware for your kitchen, baths & closets.