Ebay collecting tax on used personal items.

[33nhl]

I have been wondering and taken a simple look into sales tax on purchased items.

Upon looking up for information on this subject. I come across that it says that if an item is PERSONAL ITEM and sold that no tax should have to be paid by the buyer, unless if it's an auction where people place bids and win it.

So under those guidelines if I was selling a hockey card 5 years old it's not new and it's not in its original packaging being in a sealed pack or a sealed box, thus I believe when sold for say $10.00 the buyer should not have to pay sales tax.

I could be wrong but I think under that rule clause used items that are considered personal items should not be being charged sales tax.

Any thoughts on this tricky subject.

[msau4301]

I believe the reason comes down to the fact that even though we may be selling used items, we are not doing it ourselves (not from our home, or garage sale), we are using the eBay platform, the money the buyers pay goes to eBay (not us directly), even though eBay in turn pays us. It is eBay that charges the sales tax, not us, except for larger sellers that may already be set up to charge taxes. While it may be unfortunate for the buyer, I think they have all come to accept the taxes even if items are used, same as if they buy used items at Value Village, Goodwill or other thrift stores.

[33nhl]

I get part of that.
But Ebay is just a platform it don't sell anything for us.
I would think it no different then listing and selling on Kijij platform or Facebook Market Place its just a platform.

I select if i sell the item or not that I have listed on Ebay.
Ebay is like a policing guard.

I think no lobbyist has challenged this tax clause with Ebay.

They are considering everything listed on ebay is brand new packaged in a box.

That is completely false and they are using us to there advantage to rake in $$$$$ profits.

[flipistics]

The government mandated that all marketplaces (at least those that facilitate payment) have to collect and remit tax. It doesn't matter whether it is a new or used item. It doesn't matter whether it is a personal item.

If you believe this is fundamentally wrong, talk to your local government representative. eBay is following the law (and apparently they lobbied against the legislation).

Also, this is not just a Canada thing. eBay is forced to collect and remit tax for most states in the USA too (and we all know how sensitive Americans are to taxes). This is also the case in the EU / UK.  The Government of Canada was actually late to the party.

[marnotom!]

I posted this link on another thread about two years ago when Digital Sales Platforms (or Digital Marketplaces) in Canada were first required by law to apply taxes on transactions between Canadian buyers and sellers:

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/gst-hst-businesses/digital-ec...

The main takeaway is that once a seller involves an online intermediary such as eBay in the sale of their item(s), the game changes, just as it would if you consigned an item for sale with a brick and mortar vendor registered to collect and remit transaction and sales taxes. From the linked page:

Even if you are not required to register and charge and collect GST/HST, your customers may have to begin paying GST/HST to a digital platform operator on your supplies if they are facilitated through a digital platform.

Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace differ from eBay in that they don't handle the payment or facilitate the shipping for the items.  They're essentially classified ads sites.  

Whether or not items are new or used is immaterial, for what it's worth.

[recped]

---

@flipistics wrote:

The Government of Canada was actually late to the party.

---

Late to the party AND they left most of the cake on the table by not requiring eBay to collect taxes on orders sold on other eBay sites and imported by Canadian buyers. If Norway can require eBay to collect no matter what eBay site is involved Canada should have been able to as well.

They were almost there, but stopped short and only applied it to digital transactions.

[brettjet38]

Sales tax is a worldwide THING, almost...

https://www.globalvatcompliance.com/globalvatnews/world-countries-vat-rates-2020/

TAX on TAX on TAX on TAX makes the world go around, the world go around...

Country	Standard VAT/GST Rate	Reduced Rates
Algeria	The standard sales tax (VAT) rate is 19%.	A reduced rate of 9% applies to certain industries
Antigua and Barbuda	No VAT tax but standard sales tax is set at 15%	Reduced rate of 14%
Andorra	The standard rate is 4.5%, although a higher rate of 9.5% applies to banking and financial services.	Αndorra has three additional IGI rates: A reduced rate of 1%, a special rate of 2.5%
Argentina	The standard VAT rate is 21%. (enhanced rate of 27% for several metered utilities)	Reduced rate of 10.5%
Armenia	The standard VAT rate is 20%.
Aruba	There is no VAT as such in Aruba, although there have been calls from the International Monetary Fund for the introduction of such a levy. (A combined rate “GST” can be considered to be at 7%)
Australia	Australia has a Goods and Services Tax (GST) which is equivalent to a VAT. The standard GST rate is 10%.
Azerbaijan	The standard VAT rate is 18%.
Bahamas	Standard VAT rate of 10%
Bahrain	From January 1, 2022, the standard VAT rate is 10%.
Bangladesh	The standard VAT rate is 15%.	10%, 7.5%, 5%, 2,4%, 2%
Barbados	The standard VAT rate is 17.5% (Super rate of 22% mobile voice & text services)	A reduced rate of 10% applies to the provision of hotel accommodation
Belize	There is no value-added tax as such. Belize instead introduced a General Sales Tax in January 2006, which applies to a wide range of goods and services at a 12.5% rate.
Bermuda	There is no VAT in Bermuda.
Bolivia	The standard VAT (IVA) rate is 13% under Article 15 of the VAT Law
Botswana	Since April 2023 the standard VAT rate is 14%
Brazil	Brazil imposes a state tax equivalent to VAT (ICMS) This rate is imposed by each state and is subject to a limit set by the federal senate. The rates can vary in the states from 17% to 18% (Rio de Janeiro has 20% as an exception). and the highest rate can typically reach 25%.	7%
British Virgin Islands	There is no VAT in the British Virgin Islands.
Brunei	There is no VAT in Brunei.
Bulgaria	The standard VAT rate is 20%.	A reduced VAT rate of 10% applies to hotel accommodation and the tourism sector
Canada	The standard federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate is 5%
Cayman Islands	There is no VAT in the Cayman Islands.
Chile	The standard VAT rate is 19%.
China	The standard VAT rate is 13%, 9%, 6%	Reduced rates of 5%, 2%, 3%, 1.5% and 0.5%.
Colombia	The standard VAT (IVA – Impuesto sobre las Ventas) rate is 19%	5%
Cook Islands	The standard VAT rate is 15%,
Costa Rica	The standard VAT rate is 13%, the same rate as the sales tax.	4%,  2%, 1%
Curaçao	There is no VAT in Curaçao. (Sales tax is 6% with enchanced rates of 7& and 9%)
UAE	VAT is charged at 5% in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Ecuador	The standard VAT rate is 15%
Egypt	The VAT rate is 14%	5%
El Salvador	The standard VAT (IVA) rate is 13%
Equatorial Guinea	The standard VAT rate is 15%	6%
Ethiopia	The standard VAT rate is 15%
Faroe Islands	The standard VAT rate is 25%
Georgia	The standard VAT rate is 18%
Gibraltar	There is no VAT in Gibraltar.
Guatemala	The standard VAT rate is 12%
Guernsey	There is no VAT in Guernsey
Hong Kong	There is no VAT or sales tax in Hong Kong.
India	The primary rates of Indian GST are 0.25%, 1.5%, 3%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%
Indonesia	The standard VAT rate is 11%
Iraq	There is no VAT in Iraq. (The standard sales tax ranges from 9% to 300% on alcohol & tobacco)
Isle of Man	The standard rate of VAT is 20%	5%
Israel	The standard VAT rate is 17%
Japan	The standard (Consumption Tax) rate is 10%	8%
Jersey	The standard Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate is 5%.
Kazakhstan	The standard rate of VAT is 12%
South Korea	The standard VAT rate is 10%
Kuwait	There is no VAT in Kuwait
Laos	The standard VAT rate is 10%
Lebanon	The standard VAT rate is 11%
Malaysia	On September 1, 2018, the Government of Malaysia replaced the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with a 10% Sales Tax (The standard rate of service tax is 8%)	5% (Sales Tax)
Mauritania	The standard VAT rate is 16%
Mauritius	The standard VAT rate is 15%
Mexico	The standard VAT rate is 16%	8%
Morocco	The standard VAT rate is 20%	7% 10% 14%
New Zealand	The standard Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate is 15%
Nigeria	The standard VAT rate is 7.5%
Oman	the standard VAT rate in Oman is 5%
Pakistan	Pakistan does not have VAT. The standard sales tax rate is 18%	Pakistan has a large number of reduced sales tax rates, including 1%, 2%, 5%, 10% and 12% (among others).
Panama	The standard VAT rate in Panama is 7% and there are supplementary rates of 10% and 15%
Peru	The standard VAT rate is 18%	Effective September 1, 2022 until December 31, 2024, a 8% reduced rate will apply to micro and small suppliers of restaurant, hotel, and tourist accommodation services that receive at least 70% of their income from these supplies.
Philippines	The standard VAT rate is 12%
Puerto Rico	The sales and use tax (SUT) rate is 11.5%	1%
Qatar	There is no VAT in Qatar
Russia	The standard VAT rate is 20%	10%
Saudi Arabia	VAT is charged at 15%
Samoa	VAGST rate of 15%
Singapore	The standard Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate is 9%
South Africa	The standard VAT rate is 15%
Sri Lanka	The standard VAT rate is 18%
Taiwan	The standard VAT rate is 5%
Tanzania	The standard VAT rate is 18%
Tajikistan	The standard VAT rate is 14%	10%, 7%, 5%
Thailand	The standard VAT rate is 7% (Reduced from the standard 10% until 30 September 2024)
Tunisia	The standard VAT rate is 19%	7%, 13%
Turkey	The standard VAT rate is 20%	10%, 1%
Turks and Caicos	There is no VAT in Turks and Caicos
Ukraine	The standard VAT rate is currently 20%	7%, 14%
Uganda	The standard VAT rate is 18%
United Kingdom	The standard VAT rate is 20%	5%
Uruguay	The standard VAT rate is 22%	10%
USA	There is no VAT in the USA. U.S. state sales and use tax rates vary between 2.9% and 7.25%	Reduced rates are offered for sales of specific products.
Uzbekistan	The standard VAT rate is 12%
Vanuatu	The standard VAT rate is 15%
Venezuela	The standard VAT rate is 16%	8%
Vietnam	The standard VAT rate is 8%	Reduced VAT

[brettjet38]

(Cut, Paste, Repeat as needed)

Then contact your local MP as it was your elected officials who put this in place, It has nothing to do with eBay...

If you already did not know & evidently you do NOT...

This TAX collection system was planned by your elected Canadian Government, not eBay!

It was in the 2021 Canadian Budget, you did read it right, as a voter you should always read what is going through the system in the pork rind, CBC and most mainstream media only tells you the "things" the GOV wants to be publicized...

Also, it applies to all "online marketplaces" Amazon, Etsy, and all others. 

Any marketplace "Facilitator" that makes over $30,000.00CDN in sales has no choice other than to charge and collect the tax, this is not an eBay thing, it's a Government thing, put in place by the people you elected and put into office...

If you have an issue you can contact your local MP.

BTW - This is actually a worldwide thing, the UK, USA, Australia, and a whole slew of others already have a similar tax and many more shortly will.

And, yes it applies to USED GOODS sold through a "marketplace facilitator"

And the TAXES you are paying are based on the entire amount of the transaction you conducted on eBay, that's the Goods & Services bit...

This is the same thing I post every time I see this SALES TAX nonsense, the issue is not eBay it is YOU for not reading about what your government plans and not reading eBay policy about fees charged...

[brettjet38]

Elections are coming, maybe it would be a good time to see what will go through the Budget this time, and what goodies are passing through the Senante and will become LAW!

...just saying!

[mrdutch1001]

eBay is indeed very "different" from Kijiji classified ads; and/or the basic FB Marketplace classified ads.It is Government laws that say selling sites such as eBay, Etsy, Amazon must collect taxes from sales on their marketplace and it matters not whether NEW, or USED....and it is the responsibility of users to these selling sites to know the rules, policies and fees associated with using said selling site.