I don't know for sure but there's probably all sorts of loop holes for people buying and selling used goods.  In particular, if you buy and sell personal items, it's likely assumed (at least under $1000) that you probabl ybought it for more than you're selling it for used, therefore the government actually owes you a refund on your capital loss.

I don't have the exact references, and this could be hogwash, but I read somewhere that if you buy and sell personal goods under $1000 per item there's no capital gain to tax, over $1000 you could realize a taxable gain on the difference between what you bought the item for and what you sold it for (less any costs for refurbishment).

Quoted from websherpa

you are supposed to declare any income made on selling goods so that the government can get their share.

So what about when you buy a pin or any other item and then sell on Ebay for a loss, can I get a tax credit?

Never seems to work the other way.

Quoted from Steph

Of those who actually do sell for over $1000/mo,
the Government would have to prove it's a revenue or profit.

I'm not going to give a tax course, but I will say this is terrible advice. Sorry not going to mix words on this one. If you are selling a substantial sum of goods...really running a business but not claiming the income, you could get into a world of trouble fast.

Yes, the Government has to prove it, but guess who does all the work? YOU! I had a client running a legitimate business. Wasn't making a ton of money. In fact, was having trouble financially -- market had changed and he was struggling to find a new focus. Government audits him. They are at his house every day, he ran a home based business. Lawyers got involved due to their interpretation of certain clauses. The process took so much of his time and the legal bills climbed until he was forced to close it down. That's the best case. It can be worse.

My advice, pay your taxes honestly. Claim what you make and deduct what you can. Pay a professional to do your taxes...if you run a business. I do all of this and sleep well at night. I don't try to hide anything. Nothing funny. Keep it all on the above board and you'll be find.

Remember, if implemented they are looking for people basically running a business. Most of us, should be fine.

Duane

Quoted from HP5P

So what about when you buy a pin or any other item and then sell on Ebay for a loss, can I get a tax credit?

Never seems to work the other way.

If you run a home based business, yes. There are so many great write offs. Again, professional advice is the way to go. And yes, you can lose money and get a refund or a tax credit to be used against future years.

Duane

Quoted from TwilightZone

I'm not going to give a tax course, but I will say this is terrible advice. Sorry not going to mix words on this one. If you are selling a substantial sum of goods...really running a business but not claiming the income, you could get into a world of trouble fast.

I certainly did not mean to suggest that you should hide your income if your are indeed running a business,
I was moreso playing the devil's advocate for people who really do sell $1000/mo of personal stuff..

Hypothetical situation :
Elderly couple downsizing to a smaller house so they are selling
alot of their furniture, china,  and other possessions.

"Assume" many auctions per month totalling over $1000/mo.

This is certainly not a business and should therefore not be subject to any taxes.

Another example...
I have a stamp collection that's probably worth $30K +.
I spent 25 years building it.
If I were to sell that off, should I be taxed ?

--

Of course, if you are selling (or re-selling) NEW goods, that's another story....

I guess my point is that if you are selling "used" goods which you OWN.
no matter how much money you make in sales, you should not get taxed.

The contentious issue at the point becomes what defines "ownership"...

This is a baaaad idea I tell you...

;-p

Steph

Steph brings up good points (as does Duane) but let's make the following observations:

The articles, based on some source, are where the $1000/month figure came from, the articles mention that the tax man is targetting eBay sellers with sales over this amount (one good pin will do it, but likely they are looking at aggregate revenue for the years 2004 and 2005).

No one, even the government or its tax beaurocrats actually knows what the real tax laws are, they are too convoluted, and in most cases open to interpretation (yours, mine, theirs) and mileage varies by a lot.

Whether you operate a business or not, the government can interpret that you are earning taxable income (look at interest and investment appreciation).  Even if you barter and trade, the government can and encourages its citizens to value those barters and tax the income.

Some people (myself included) don't get the fact that taxation is meant to be a good thing, to support the infrastructure that we all benefit from, and so complying and reporting income should be considered a necessity, not an evil.  

HEY! Who just threw that chair!!!  

the big question on everyone's mind is:  If I buy, barter, fix and sell machines at a profit in order to acquire more machines, does that make me a business?

Quoted from Monkeybug

I just read somewhere that Quebec is one of the most heavily taxed provinces in Canada.

Correction... Quebec is the 2nd most taxed place IN THE WORLD (only beaten by Sweden).

     What if I buy a machine (or a few), pay big $$ for storage, pay big time for shipping, then pay for parts and repairs, then pay for listing, final value, and PAYPAL fees on EBAY, and then sell it for less than I paid in the first place?? Does this qualify me as a charitable organization? Maybe I'm missing out on some tax benefits!! Or maybe the Royal Ottawa Hospital has a bed waiting for me.... . No profit here.

     I looked into it a bit further as I was obviously a little interested...they will be looking at data from 2004 and 2005, and they will look for those who averaged over $1000/month in sales. They'll easily be finding this by only using data from the EBAY Powersellers. They won't be bothering with anyone who hasn't qualified at this level during those 2 years, at least for now. I personally didn't start selling on EBAY till '06. Guess my big refund will have to wait a bit!!! I'll tell you one thing though...my days of selling on EBAY are over....I think many will feel the same way and it will be a disaster for EBAY, at least in Canada.

Quoted from 265

  ...it will be a disaster for EBAY, at least in Canada.

I seriously doubt that it will be a disaster for eBay. I doubt it will even be a blip in the radar. Canada is only one part of their revenue. The US, of course, is the HUGE market. Also, as I have already stressed, those operating legitimate businesses will be fine.

Duane

   Definitely its just Canada as this has no consequences for the States, but I think that anyone with a powerseller account thats not a "legitimate" business will disappear quickly. Thats not to say thats a bad thing, since they were not playing by the rules, but for EBAY Canada this will result in thousands of lost listings and therefore transactions.