Anybody worried?

http://www.680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070927_082559_4556

I don't sell much, if anything at all on Ebay so I don't have anything to worry about but figured guys like Jim or Dave Astill might have something to worry about  :/

There are many people running a business on Ebay and probably walking away with tax free money so it does not surprise me that the government is cracking down. For the hobbyist, I am sure this is not going to be an issue. Seems like they are pursuing those that sell more than $1000/month on a regular basis.

Lately I have been selling some odd items I want to get rid of on Kijiji and getting more money than Ebay and it is FREE!, NO FEES  

But i am sure the government will look at that next!!

Why they should'nt pay tax if they live with that, they should be taxable. Me i pay tax at my work so why they do'nt. Maybe they dont use metro or hospital....

taxes i hate people who charge tax on ebay! i hate paying tax on a used item that had tax already payed on it! sorry but we pay enough taxes and never see wgere it goes. (at least in quebec)

Maybe iam wrong but im pretty sure not, tax in english could mean "impot sur le revenue" and the article says 'Profits from eBay could be taxed' its mean the profit the people made must be add to the total annual revenue. In that sens i think they should pay tax like any citizen if they leave or make alot of money with ebay.

Quoted from JD3

taxes i hate people who charge tax on ebay! i hate paying tax on a used item that had tax already payed on it! sorry but we pay enough taxes and never see wgere it goes. (at least in quebec)

Don't you see your tax dollars everyday when reading all those signs in both French AND English?  (Someone has to be paid to make sure they are all the correct size).  

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

Honestly, if you are a "high volume seller" (as the article states) then you should be paying taxes. If you are only running the occasional auction, I think you have nothing to worry about. But if you are running a home based business then you should pay taxes like the rest of us. I run my own business and let me tell you the Government takes their fair share. Providing services (for the City, Province, etc.) isn't free and our taxes cover those services. It's mind boggling when you think of all the things our taxes cover: road repair, clearing snow, care of parks, etc.

That said, like JD I think it is a total scam that we pay taxes on used items, for example cars. That's double tax and just isn't right.

Duane

Yes it use to be just in french but with the constitution, the one we never sign, the supreme court force gouverment of Qu�bec to modify the 101 law to make some room to the english. But it's ok its not like when I go to Lester B. Pearson Airport I'm able to be serve in french.... but thats an other story.

I think this is aimed at people selling new items and not filing taxes on the profits.  Used items in private sales are not subject to tax in Canada (or so I thought - I am not an accountant).  If they were the entire garage sale industry would collapse!

I'm no tax expert, but this is about Revenue tax and with only a few exceptions you are supposed to declare any income made on selling goods so that the government can get their share.  (But you can also then legitimately declare and deduct the original cost of those goods, supplies and improvements and some other things).

I haven't seen the order, but I'm surprised that eBay could be forced to provide en masse information that wasn't requested about a particular user with a warrant (but I wouldn't put it past the government).  It wouldn't be the first time the government has come up with a make work scheme that may or may not net them much (i.e. it costs more to investigate than it does in recovered taxes and fines).

If you sell more than $30,000 in goods you likely have to charge GST too, and I think you have to charge PST if you couldn't prove that the items being sold were legitimately part of your personal belongings.

Quoted from Vengeance

Anybody worried?

Nope ....

I bet this is just another hair-brained scheme that will go nowhere....

It's only there as a scare tactic...

There are probably MILLIONS of eBay sellers in Canada.
Of those probably only a very small number sell over $1000/mo
(...remember, this is selling , not buying, ... so Jim should be OK !  

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

If they tried to tax you for selling personal items,
it could be argued that you could then write off the original purchase price
as a "business expense ... ".

I personally think it will cost far more money to implement this system
than they will ever get in collections.

It's a bad idea and it's doomed to fail...

...but we'll see
Steph