eBay

maureenr5700 · ‎05-03-2022

eBay have been collecting tax for the Canadian government through the Global Shipping Program for some time now ... Arranging for many of their USA sellers to ship their items through Erlanger Kentucky where eBay supposedly makes life easier for them by doing the import papers to Canada which includes putting Canada's taxes on the purchases made by Canadians...so no problem now to incorporate the system within Canada. You gotta love it😒 Big question to me is what does eBay charge the Canadian government for this service...as in we the people. I buy mostly 2nd., hand items that have been taxed already and sick of my purchases taking 5 to 7 days longer to arrive while Erlanger retaxes my previously owned items ... For me this latest interference by eBay to make themselves more money because for sure their not going to collect the taxes for free is bye bye eBay.

mrdutch1001 · ‎05-03-2022

This isn't about eBay...this encompasses other marketplace facilitators= applies to other selling sites too, just as the USA "internet taxation" applies to other selling sites...

View solution in original post

reallynicestamps · ‎05-03-2022

what does eBay charge the Canadian government for this service..

Interesting question.

And one unlikely to be answered.

In the last century, Ontario had an allowance for businesses which we deducted from our tax remittances.

But that disappeared in the 21st century.

EBay's costs for collecting and remitting taxes might be forgiven by some governments or there might be a rebate, but more likely those costs are just a tax deduction, like printer ink for the Toronto office.

If you are shopping secondhand, take a look at your cashier's slips. You have been paying federal and provincial taxes on most of those secondhand goods since they were introduced.

marnotom! · ‎05-03-2022

Apologies if I’m misunderstanding your post, but the way I read it, you seem to be suggesting that eBay is (or will be) collecting and remitting sales taxes for reasons of fun and profit, rather than because they’re legally required to do so. Am I off-base?

maureenr5700 · ‎05-03-2022

Totally... If you purchase from the US on eBay for the last 16 years as I have you would have seen the changes. No where do I suggest they "collect tax for fun" but certainly claim they ...collect for profit. There is no way eBay started their Erlanger depot for the benefit of buyers... they collect the tax on every item that qualifies for the Canadian government that direct shipments USPS to Canada Post occasionally collect ... Do you think eBay provides that service for free? Sometimes you need actual hands on experience to understand the situation.

mrdutch1001 · ‎05-03-2022

This isn't about eBay...this encompasses other marketplace facilitators= applies to other selling sites too, just as the USA "internet taxation" applies to other selling sites...

maureenr5700 · ‎05-03-2022

reallynicestamps...when the garage and flea market sales people start charging me taxes I give up buying...at 75 I don't need too much more for my house or wardrobe. I have no problem with taxes on a good bottle of wine, beer or vodka but then haven't seen any good deals on 2nd., hand spirits🙊Keep well!

marnotom! · ‎05-04-2022

@maureenr5700 wrote:

Totally... If you purchase from the US on eBay for the last 16 years as I have you would have seen the changes. No where do I suggest they "collect tax for fun" but certainly claim they ...collect for profit. There is no way eBay started their Erlanger depot for the benefit of buyers... they collect the tax on every item that qualifies for the Canadian government that direct shipments USPS to Canada Post occasionally collect ... Do you think eBay provides that service for free? Sometimes you need actual hands on experience to understand the situation.

Sorry to be nitpicky, but the Global Shipping Program's operations are actually helmed by Pitney Bowes, the postal meter company that's trying to transform itself into a global logistics company in light of declining letter mail volumes. eBay may get a small cut of the action, but what they're really hoping for is an increase in revenue from international sales from the US, which if I recall and understand correctly, now make up over half of the .com site's total sales volume.

Interestingly enough, what the Global Shipping Program charges to process taxes and duties for an eBay import from the US is less than what Canada Post does in the rare event that a postal import is assessed and charged taxes (and duty, if applicable) by Canada Border Services.

reallynicestamps · ‎05-04-2022

There is no way eBay started their Erlanger depot for the benefit of buyers...

They didn't.

And they advertise the GSP as a Seller Protection.

It was begun to encourage xenophobic and paranoid US sellers to ship outside the Lower 48.

Once the shipment is accepted by the Erlanger plant (which is in the middle of the USA and minutes from the Cincinnati airport) the seller's responsiblity for delivery ends, along with much of the Money Back Guarantee.

It has been popular with US sellers and has been extended to xenophobic and paranoid UK sellers who would not even ship to Malta or Gibraltar.

There is little to recommend the GSP to buyers and less to Canadian buyers.

But it was not meant to.

maureenr5700 · ‎05-05-2022

Sorry missing your points...As GSP collects on every applicable transaction and Canada Post nabs a few that is hardly relevant. eBay has arranged & urged their sellers to use the GSP however Pitney Bowes is involved ...mute point to me🐝

marnotom! · ‎05-05-2022

@maureenr5700 wrote:

Sorry missing your points...As GSP collects on every applicable transaction and Canada Post nabs a few that is hardly relevant. eBay has arranged & urged their sellers to use the GSP however Pitney Bowes is involved ...moot point to me🐝

Like most businesses, I don't think eBay enjoys having to be a tax collector. As noted by @mrdutch1001, they do it because they have to, not because they want to. If they get some sort of cut to take the sting out of it, can you blame them?

You might remember that when CUSMA was being negotiated, the managing director of eBay Canada at the time was pushing for an improvement to the duty limit for imports from the US. (Conveniently forgetting that most objections to the GSP were actually to tax charges, not duty, however.) eBay Canada also put up some resistance when CRA indicated that the site had to start charging GST/HST on seller fees.

The forced taxation of sales made on marketplace facilitator sites such as eBay strikes me as being in the same vein as how income tax was introduced. It was originally intended as a temporary measure to pay for the Great War, but ended up sticking. It's probably been noted how much online commerce has increased and conventional brick and mortar retail has struggled since COVID started becoming a way of life for us and this has affected government revenues. We gotta pay for all this COVID stuff somehow.

patphotog · ‎05-05-2022

Interesting fact...some people on this chat are answering on behalf of ebay...and their store are empty...nothing for sale...who are those people??? Just being curious...I'm very intrigued

reallynicestamps · ‎05-05-2022

Posting IDs are used by many active buyers and sellers, so their commercial interests are not hurt by other posters who take offence and decide to mess with their "real" accounts.

I have seven accounts, four actively selling, but I don't post with all of them, mostly so I don't end up disagreeing with myself.

I personally do not like the GSP and try very hard not to buy from sellers who use it.

But I do understand how it works and why US and UK sellers love it.

And I can't say I'm thrilled about the introduction of Canadian sales taxes, following the US, UK , EU, and Australian example, but having been in retail for nearly 35 years, I have some grasp of how sales* taxes work and hope I can help others understand them.

*Yes, used goods are taxable. No, sellers are not paying sales taxes, buyers pay sales taxes.

maureenr5700 · ‎05-06-2022

Hi patphotog...I also wonder about that a previous poster with no sales and no buys had the same response as reallynicestamps...they don't want to be harrased though they don't mind harrassing your opinion. Too me if you have no or little experience buying or selling you don't have first hand knowledge and shouldn't be telling others how eBay works...Saying you have one or many posting accounts dosen't cut it, seems like your after the badges...omg!