To all you Ebay sellers out there...

[diggummup]

It is a scam and I recieved one in my spam box few days ago. Look at the full header and you will see that it was from paypall.com with two L's. I hope you didn't give them any information.

Yours may be a spam but mine isn't. It's right on the top of my paypal account page now telling me to update.

Don't blame Ebay. Blame the sticky fingers of our fine Government. Besides that, if your selling so much that your a business then why shouldn't you have to pay taxes like a business? I've had a small business and had to pay my share. And they will never regulate garage sales so to post that was just silly venting. This was bound to happen when 1000's of people are making money without tax regulation. As Americans we are free but not free of taxes. For awhile it was a free ride and many enjoyed the freedoms of turning profits without being taxed. Now their making people who make lots of money and have whats considered a on line ebay business pay their share. If that's wrong to you then try another way to make $20,000 in a business tax free and then do it. Find somewhere else to sell your stuff to a worldwide market and good luck with your search. IMHO, Woodstock

Personally I don't have to worry about it. I would never sell more than 20k on any ebay/paypal account. If it got to that point, I would use the wifes account, then my brothers, sisters, their kids and so on and so on. Where there's a will, there's a way. The IRS should be abolished, another government scam. They weren't part of the birth/origin of this country.
Brief History of IRS

Origin
The roots of IRS go back to the Civil War when President Lincoln and Congress, in 1862, created the position of commissioner of Internal Revenue and enacted an income tax to pay war expenses. The income tax was repealed 10 years later. Congress revived the income tax in 1894, but the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional the following year.

16th Amendment
In 1913, Wyoming ratified the 16th Amendment, providing the three-quarter majority of states necessary to amend the Constitution. The 16th Amendment gave Congress the authority to enact an income tax. That same year, the first Form 1040 appeared after Congress levied a 1 percent tax on net personal incomes above $3,000 with a 6 percent surtax on incomes of more than $500,000.

In 1918, during World War I, the top rate of the income tax rose to 77 percent to help finance the war effort. It dropped sharply in the post-war years, down to 24 percent in 1929, and rose again during the Depression. During World War II, Congress introduced payroll withholding and quarterly tax payments.

 

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[handy]

Dear ebay as the world will end in 2012 ill be sending my tax info in 2013

 

[mikusek]

I received one last year and I don't sell on ebay, and hadn't purchased anything there for four years. I say scam, if not run by scammers, run by politicians. What's the difference.

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

Never click on an email link asking for personal info. Heck, don't click, if you don't know or trust the person sending it, and even then.........

I too, received this email and had to acquiesce, just to withdraw my own moneys. I did not click the email link however.
Go to the trusted site, if there is no notice there, more than likely, it's a scam.

Someone from Wachovia bank needs my acct and personal info, LOL! I been doing business with them, 4 bank owners ago, for over 20 years. If they don't know me by now.......... well, they should hold their breath, if they are waiting for an on-line reply. Ain't gonna happen.

eta, oh sorry, just seen date of posts, oh well....... at least I ain't looking for a ring lost in 2007, again! LOL!

 

[randazzo1]

I sent them everything they asked for - it is not a scam - is an IRS reporting requirement. That said, I agree with the other posters -- entering the info on Paypal's website is one thing -- I wouldn't put it in an email. At the end of the day - it doesn't really mean much. What really counts is how much you paid for the items you re-sold on ebay. What was your basis in each item. That's what will dictate the taxes you pay. (don't forget gas, lunch, hotel stays, market admissions). This will be the first year I am reporting sales. The real pain in the neck in NJ is keeping up with the quarterly sales tax reports. Only 10% of our ebay sales wind up in NJ but they still need to be reported. This is a part-time business / hobby for my brother and I but we easily ran passed 20K in sales because we sell a lot of jewelry.

 

[SilverForBrains]

you've also had trouble with ebay recently huh, how did that turn out (the max sales issue)? from what I understand classically ebay gives the IRS no information, looks like that's changing. well, that kinda sucks