Is it fair the way eBay charges its taxes on insertion fees?

Last month I listed 2800 items and paid 0.05 + 5% tax on each item which was charged per item for a total of 5.25 cents per listing.

If I went to Walmart/any other big box store or actually any store that charges tax for that matter I would pay 5 cents.

 

Ebay this month is charging me .05 + 5% tax for a total of 5.25 cents per insertion fee (same as last month) however, they now round it to 0.06 per item.

 

Sounds like nothing major.... That additional penny costs me an extra $28 per month. 

 

If i was registered I could claim it as ITC but im not concerned with that its the way eBay calculates this fee.

 

Does anyone agree with me this is incorrect and maybe illegal?

Message 1 of 8
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Is it fair the way eBay charges its taxes on insertion fees?

I forgot to mention I list primarily in the DVD category where insertion fees are 5 cents per listing + tax.

Message 2 of 8
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Is it fair the way eBay charges its taxes on insertion fees?

eBay calculates the FVF and insertion fees  plus GST/HST  for each transaction... to something like 6 decimal points

 

Then  the total for a month is the sum of each transaction.....   to the same number of decimal points.....

 

 

Only then is the total rounded up... or... down

Message 3 of 8
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Is it fair the way eBay charges its taxes on insertion fees?

"Is it fair the way eBay charges its taxes on insertion fees?"

 

eBay does not charge tax, the federal government does. eBay simply collects it on behalf of the government and remits it monthly.

 

Yes, the way it is calculated is fair.

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Is it fair the way eBay charges its taxes on insertion fees?

It's legal.

 

Which might be what the OP means.

 

It's charged to every seller.

So it's even-handed.

Which might be what the OP means.

 

The OP mentions one way to get relief on this tax, which is to register to remit GST (guessing he's in AB since he does not mention PST or HST) and claim tax credits.

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Is it fair the way eBay charges its taxes on insertion fees?

Am I the only that thinks this is wrong?

Last month was 5 cents per listing + tax = 5.25 cents per listing. Ebay rounded it to 5 cents.

This month it is 5 cents per listing + tax = 5.25 cents per listing. Ebay rounds it to 6 cents.

 

If I relist my 2800 DVDS costing 1 cent more thats an extra $28.00 per month and also works out to 20% tax per insertion fee.

Message 6 of 8
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Is it fair the way eBay charges its taxes on insertion fees?

The problem is in rounding

 

You are located in Nova Scotia.  HST is 15%.

 

A $0.050000 listing plus 15% HST will result in a charge of $0.057500

 

This will read as $0.06 due to rounding.

 

However, it will be calculated as $0.057500 in your total monthly invoice.

 

PS - I do not know nor can I explain why your previous invoice showed $0.05 per listing.  Are you sure that was the case for all listings last month?

 

 

 

Message 7 of 8
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Is it fair the way eBay charges its taxes on insertion fees?

The easy solution for this vendor is to register for HST/GST, and then the tax, whatever the level, becomes an Input Tax Credit and can be reclaimed from when filing a HST/GST tax return.

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