The Taxman is Coming...

[phoebescollectables]

CRA won a court order to require eBay to hand over information on Powersellers.

I wonder how many sellers they will catch not reporting their income.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070927.REBAY27/TPStory/Business

[whoscloset]

If you think they are going to base their requests on PS status rather than sales $'s you are making a dangerous assumption.

[fenian]

Re Post # 18, eBay does show the sale at 99 cents. What you seem to be complaining about is Paypal's charge on the total dollar volume coming through them. Your dollar total processed through them (including taxes you may charge, your shipping fee, any other handling fee etc) is what they use to calculate their fees, irrespective of how its made up. This is a tax thread, and what eBay will be giving CRA is sales totals. If you sold something for 99 cents, then CRA will receive a record of the 99 cent sale.

Re Post # 20, I agree with Monique. I was a government auditor for over 25 years, and I can assure everyone that once CRA starts, they will be requesting all sales figures and will use their skookum software to determine at what dollar levels they will commence investigations. Avoiding having Powerseller status will not protect you.

Re Post # 19, CRA will be doing data matches on family incomes as well as cross-referencing addresses and other personal information against what they get from eBay. Trying to bury income in the names of children etc., is an ancient tax dodge which fails miserably. If there was $30K from eBay sales coming from 123 Main Street last year (remember they're going back to 2004), and the same amount this year, it will be tough to prove that the income was earned by Billy-Bob the 10-year old. The onus of proof rests with the taxpayer. Keep good records, declare your income, take all possible deductions you can (get some accounting help if you need it) and pay your taxes like you should.

Just my thoughts........... Michael

[tea_past_times]

and pay your taxes like you should.....

And then the truth actually is.....


The Federal Income Tax: 1917

Now that we understand that the national debt can never be fully repaid using the current system of finance, the question arises: How, then, does it get paid? In 1917, after finding out that the debt was beginning to build, the Federal Government usurped the powers of the provincial governments and, under the guise of the War Debt, instituted the War Debt Income Tax Act. The Act was unconstitutional then, and it is still unconstitutional today. When it was enacted, it was on a voluntary basis, at a rate of 10%, and applied only to those earning $10,000 or more per year. In 1917, the average yearly salary was about $250.

The Income Tax Act could have more appropriately been named the Bank Interest Debt Income Tax Act; but then, people would have fought to the death to keep it out of effect. Since that time, the Federal Government has seen fit to increase the tax rate as high as 65% on high-income individuals, and has also seen fit to remove the lower limits to the point that, as you know, everyone is required to pay...

And now we have had the GST, which in my opinion is equaly as unconstitutional, rammed down our throats by a group of MPs that brashly and boldly declare that they are smarter than we are, and they know best...


Facing up to reality

Our Federal Government has gone so far away from the Constitution, in nearly every area of jurisdiction, that it now conspires to change it altogether. But that is not the solution. Getting back to the way it was written is the solution...

Each one of us selects his mode and method of doing battles with oppressive government. Some of us do it by speaking out... some of us join non-party political groups, some of us pray, and most of us do nothing. We have a condition called the "ostrich syndrome." If we ignore it and don't look at it, it might go away! But remember this: if your head is in the sand, your butt is an open target!


The Hart System: tax avoidance Federal Income Tax is illegal

Hart System of Effective Tax Avoidance. Gerry Hart passed avay recently in Winnipeg, but not before becoming Canada's undisputed champion No. 1 tax fighter. Mr. Hart for many years opted to take an aggressive and active position against oppressive government, and he has not paid income tax in nearly 50 years. During that time, he has been imposed upon, charged, harassed, his privacy invaded, and his person subjected to illegal search. But he has never given an inch. He has been to the Manitoba Court of Appeal 22 times, but has never lost.

In 1950 Gerry Hart received a copy of a Vancouver newspaper article which reported on a recent ruling made by the Supreme Court of Canada. He then requested a copy of the ruling itself, from the Supreme Court Chancery in Ottawa. He also requested a copy of the B.N.A. Act, because the ruling quoted various sections of that document. He found, just as the newspaper had reported, that Section 91 and 92 of the B.N.A. Act do not allow for the Federal Government to be in the Income Tax business.

The two documents - the Supreme Court ruling and the B.N.A. Act - have been the basis of his battle, and the only two cocuments he has needed. He has never had the benefit of legal counsel, and has chosen to appear in court by himself. His only evidence has been those two documents. Charges against him have been thrown out of court 22 times. The last time, some twelve or so years ago, Revenue Canada was told that if it ever brought Gerry Hart back into court, that Revenue Canada itself would be charged with contempt of court.

Gerry Hart has never been convicted under the Income Tax Act. As he says, "Income Tax is illegal. Therefore the collection of it is also illegal. Since Revenue Canada has no legal method of collecting income tax, they must resort to illegal means." Those illegal means include harassment, intimidation, illegal search, illegal seizure, violation of privacy, extortion, coercion, and complete ignorance and contempt for the human rights of Canadian citizens...
http://www.prolognet.qc.ca/clyde/tax.htm
for the full story.

[tea_past_times]

Just my thoughts..... PHIL

[whoscloset]

Been to the doctor lately tea?

[tea_past_times]

I think anyone who was to spend a few minutes reading your posts versus mine would instantly recognize who needs help.

[tea_past_times]

Are you able to post more than 1 sentence at a time??

[whoscloset]

Getting a little paranoid?

I was actually asking whether or not you are using the services that the tax system supports...or whether you are upstanding enough to stand by your principles by not taking advantage of an infra-structure to which you do not wish to contribute.

[tea_past_times]

I'm not saying we shouldn't contribute to good programs, but income tax was voluntary when started and remains that way on the law books to this very day. You don't have to contribute if you don't want to, or feel you are not able. Actually in addition, to paying what I am told I owe in taxes, I volunteer at a public school free of charge, as a further contribution to the common good.
My beef, since you ask, is that even after people pay a voluntary tax each year(even though they don't realize it's voluntary), they still have the nerve to go after people's garage sale money, which online or not Ebay selling, basically is.
If we go for this, then the church bakesales, school hot dog days, etc. etc. will soon be taxed as well. Let's leave the taxes on the cheque from work where they belong. The government has better things to do than bug Ebay sellers.
I just want Ebay sellers to know they have a choice in this, government harassment notwithstanding.

[tea_past_times]

And no, I haven't been to a doctor or hospital in 4 years.

[whoscloset]

The CRA isn't after the garage saler. They are after the sellers who make a consistent primary or secondary income from retail sales, regardless of the market they use to distribute those goods.

If you are buying items for the sole purpose of reselling them at an expected profit, you are not having a garage sale. You are running a business. Would you not expect to be required to pay tax on income from a part-time job?

Honestly, I really don't care whether you choose to contribute your fair share to our collective society. I happen to believe in the majority of our social service programs and chose to pay what is requested of me accordingly. Do I take out as much as I put in? Probably not...but I'm glad to know the systems are there if I ever do require them.

Those who think they can duck and cover by quitting the PS program or spreading their listings over multiple family members at this late date are closing the barn door after the animals have escaped. I have absolutely no doubt that the CRA will be requesting info that goes back years. You would be better served by visiting an accountant and submitting income revisions before the CRA comes knocking.

[tea_past_times]

I have absolutely no doubt that the CRA will be requesting info that goes back years. ...

Actually The court ruling CRA won pertains to information about persons who had powerseller status in 2004 or 2005. So all they will be getting is gross sales figures for those years for those persons. It's a fairly specific order. And they still don't have that yet, as the judge has yet to rule on whether CRA is conducting a valid investigation or a fishing expedition.

I was reporting Ebay income in 2004 and 2005 but wasn't a powerseller then, so they won't even be looking at me this round.

But it's been an interesting conversation. Have a good day all.

[ameroindustries]

Blah just more government control .

"The Government That Governs least Governs best"

You get punished in this country for getting ahead don't you dare make over 36,000.00 a year else you lose 45% of your income . I think sometimes it pays to be lazy in this country don't have to worry bout audits and the government down you back acting like shadow mafia .

Mean time give them there 100,000.00 a year pensions and there 3 hours of work a day (overall) acting like animals in the house of Corprate getting nothing done and just rubbing the backs of big corporate intrest's .

Welcome to The New World Order . Get ready for the amero .

[cottonwoodindustries]

You know what, if you are honest, you reap the benefits. There are so many advantages, deductions, etc. with declaring a business, that in the end you actually you make more than you pay.

[cello10]

Actually I was audited this year, the person I dealt with was 23 years old and very ebay and paypal savy. We passed with flying colors and it turned out we were actually owed some money when it came to the gst/pst. Of course we are a legitimately registered company so we were picked for an audit that way, not by being a powerseller. This access to who the powersellers are is just to find out who is running a business, but isn't actually registered. Once they know who those people are then they can look into anything they want pretty much, so tricks won't help you.

They went back 3 years. But again it all worked out well because we keep proper records and declare everything. As was stated earlier in this post, I don't get why you wouldn't just report your income and deduct your allowable expenses, as there are so many. In the end you wouldn't be saving much not declaring and you'd be able to sleep at night.

Having said all that, the agent I dealt with was very nice and even provided us with some very helpful/useful information that helped us improve things. He even pointed out how we weren't delcaring enough in terms of vehicle expenses and how we were entitled to more. Bottom line their purpose isn't to ruin your life. Our guy wasn't rigid at all. While overall we do a great job at records/declaring, we weren't perfect and our guy gave us more than fair wiggle room. These guys aren't the big bad hombres people think they are.

So if you haven't gotten things above board, get to it and hopefully by the time your time comes you'll be prepared.

[aj22003]

CRA is just grasping at straws and going after small fish as far as I'm concerned,this is something that they have been watching for years and now they figure that some money may be made,actually some revenue canada employee thought he might get a promotion with a small fish.But if someone tries to report a large fish they don't bother because large fish have sharks for lawyers and CRA bows down.I sell on ebay as a hobby almost sold to every country in the world and I keep track have all bills sales postal receipts paypal charges for my 1500 sales on ebay in 4 years,hope they have a year to spend on just my paperwork for this many items.I think this is just a nother cluster ---- like our gun regestry.

[*stealthtech*]

I could'nt have said it better aj22003 😛
.
http://pages.ebay.ca/theme/mystoryarchive/sean.html

[computergamesandsoftware]

Taxman goes browsing on eBay

PAUL WALDIE

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

September 27, 2007 at 12:01 AM EDT

Canadians who sell a lot of stuff on eBay best beware – the taxman is watching.

The Canada Revenue Agency has won a Federal Court order requiring eBay Canada Ltd. to turn over the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all high-volume sellers on the popular website. The CRA wants to find out whether those individuals or companies are reporting the income they made from online sales in 2004 and 2005.

“The CRA is seeking to verify compliance with the obligations and duties under the Income Tax Act of certain Canadian taxpayers selling goods in an online marketplace,” said an affidavit filed in court by Aziz Fazal, a Toronto tax officer who heads an audit group within the CRA that is leading the probe.

“In particular, the CRA seeks to verify the reporting of income by certain Canadian taxpayers selling goods via the eBay marketplace.”
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Enlarge Image

Ebay Canada president Jordan Banks is photographed at the online auction's offices in Toronto in Aug. 2007. (Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail)
The Globe and Mail

A lawyer representing eBay Canada declined to comment on the order, which was finalized last week.

The company argued in court that it did not have access to the records because eBay Canada is a subsidiary of eBay Inc. All of the information requested by the CRA is stored in computers outside Canada, eBay's lawyers said in court filings.

The company also argued that the CRA had not shown enough evidence to prove that it “was conducting a genuine and serious inquiry.”

Mr. Justice Roger Hughes of the Federal Court of Canada ruled that eBay is legally obliged to turn over the information even if it is located elsewhere.

However, Judge Hughes reserved his decision on the issue of the validity of the CRA investigation. That will be dealt with in a future hearing.

“Good for [the CRA],” said Andrea Alacchi, a Montreal entrepreneur who launched an online business in 2004, called Distribution Online, after starting out by selling items on eBay. “It's unfair competition for people like us who run businesses fairly. If the other guy is not declaring his income, it's unfair competition.”

Canadians spend about $5-billion online each year and eBay is by far the largest electronic marketplace, accounting for about a quarter of the total sales. The site was visited by nearly 11 million Canadians in August, according to company figures.

The CRA said in court filings that it is targeting people who qualified for eBay's PowerSeller program in 2004 and 2005.

Only top eBay sellers can qualify for the program, which provides benefits to members. Those benefits include prioritized customer service, special promotions and sales tips.

According to court filings, there are five PowerSeller levels ranging from Bronze, which involves $1,000 a month in sales, to Titanium, which is for people or companies that sell more than $150,000 a month.

The company does not release the number of PowerSellers but, according to court files, it keeps detailed computer records on each member.

The CRA defended its actions in court filings by arguing that it has the power to ensure tax laws are followed and it offered assurance the information will be kept confidential. “The Canadian income tax system is a self-assessing system. It's integrity is dependent on the Minister's broad power to verify compliance with the Act,” the agency said in a filing.

A CRA spokeswoman declined to comment on the probe or whether it will be expanded to other websites.

[straw11]

Hello All Does anyone know how one would get the total sales from previous years on ebay that you have sold or if this is even possible thanks for any help Pat