eBay charging HST on books?

[3islanders]

I don't suppose there's a way to get a rebate for eBay charging a full 15% tax on a purchase of books...?  Or is their loophole that you're buying "second-hand"?  I forgot about the new tax grab, just got soaked.  😞

(And yes, I chose to buy anyway because I'm tired of hunting for the book set and there they were.)

[marnotom!]

The word from eBay is that they’ll take responsibility for any taxes charged incorrectly or inappropriately under this new scheme, but it’s not clear how this works yet.

If I were in your shoes, I’d contact eBay through either Facebook or Twitter, as I’m going to get a better-trained eBay CSR than if I called a contracted out phone rep. Have a page like this one ready to show whomever you’re going to chat with online as it explains what the point-of-sale rebate of the provincial portion of NB HST is supposed to look like:

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/gi-065/point-sale-r...

Good luck!

[3islanders]

I will check it out; thanks for the suggestion. It's somewhat nuts that FB or Twitter staff are better trained than the site's "contact us" people!?!!

[3islanders]

...well that was an entertaining waste of time. I sent a message to FB and am awaiting reply; in the meantime thought I'd try a site rep. Result: "online sales tax rules are different" (BS, Amazon does not charge 15%!!) and "we can't refund you anyway because we've already remitted it to the province" (or words to that effect). Suggested I apply for a rebate through the government (appears to have a minimum amount that I am under). Bleepin racket.

[3islanders]

...and "we haven't had this come up before". So, they're not really taking responsibility.

[marnotom!]

Well, tax overcharges for books are extremely unlikely if the item is listed in the “books” category, so I don’t think this is a matter of eBay avoiding responsibility.

[3islanders]

They were listed (erroneously?) under "collectibles" 😕 I mean, I guess that's why, because the automated system wouldn't identify books as such in a different category. Got a message back from FB wanting me to "verify my account" by clicking a link and entering a password. I guess you have to trust that this is legit, but being leery of such things, I haven't yet.

[ypdc_dennis]

What category were the books listed in?

I looked at a couple of books from Canadian sellers and see 5% as the tax amount in the shopping cart.

-;-

[3islanders]

They were under “collectibles”. I guess that’s why 😕

[reallynicestamps]

but according to eBay the tax is being charged on the transaction. Not on the item.

I think you are referring to eBay/Managed Payment fees on customer payments.

It has been Standard Practice in the financial industry to charge fees on the entire payment without breaking down how it was made up.

Based on having a merchant credit card account since the early 80s . (My bank teller days predated credit cards.)

If there is a way for buyers to get refunds on tax charged incorrectly something should have been in place July 1

Absolutely.
There was over a year to figure it out.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@3islanders wrote:

I don't suppose there's a way to get a rebate for eBay charging a full 15% tax on a purchase of books...?  Or is their loophole that you're buying "second-hand"?  I forgot about the new tax grab, just got soaked.  😞

(And yes, I chose to buy anyway because I'm tired of hunting for the book set and there they were.)

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Books/bullion/clothing/food "may" be tax exempt in some cases/ jurisdictions   but according to eBay the tax is being charged on the transaction. Not on the item. The whole situation is bit wishy washy regarding exemptions. Other buyers have noted it wasn't being applied or applied differently. Hard to know what rules eBay and others are playing by and if everything is correct across the board.

If there is a way for buyers to get refunds on tax charged incorrectly something should have been in place July 1. We shouldn't be looking for it a month after the fact.

-Lotz