IRS May Ask eBay To Snitch On Sellers

Makarand writes "The IRS thinks that many sellers on online auction sites are unaware of their obligation to declare their profits and pay their taxes to the IRS. Tax experts are now asking the IRS to require online auction sites like eBay, Yahoo, and Ubid to report the gross sales numbers for their sellers. Such a requirement will surely send a shock wave across the online trading world because it could drastically reduce the profits a seller would make on these sites. The IRS thinks it can collect an extra $2 billion in taxes from this requirement that auctioneers report sellers who complete 100 or transactions a year worth at least $5,000."

Re:+ tax

[pla]

Dislaimer: I'm not a tax expert, but I play one when I talk to my friends into letting me do their taxes.

Need any new friends? ;-)

Re:So....

[Anonymous Coward]

Too bad tax evasion is a crime, huh?

So is anything but Missionary Position in some states, what's your point?

Re:Cool as long as Europeans stop getting

[R2.0]

The US history of fucking over Europeans only dates back to the beginning of the Bush administration - for some an eternity, but really only 6 years. I'll even give up 60 years, to post WWII - we all know the Marshall plan was just a big conspiracy.

The history of Europe fucking over the rest of the world goes back over 2000 years - Rome, Crusades, Colonialism. Find me a speck on the globe that wasn't exploited by some European.

Re:Why should ebay comply?

[ArsonSmith]

Because trying to play hardball with the IRS is a bad thing. Suddenly eBay has a full audit by the IRS. Then they find they are having a 7 year history full audit then next year they are doing it again. the year after that eBay says, "why are we getting audited every year?" IRS points to thier saying no and people ebay sales start going to IRS.

Re:Fair Tax = Screw the middle class

[bhmit1]

First, I'll say that our tax system is pretty screwed up, and your proposal to change it to a flat tax would be a welcome change.

However, there's an underlying theory that says you should tax bads, not goods, if you want to encourage good behavior. We should find a solution that encourages people to earn money and grow the economy, not to discourage income. For a healthy economy, we need to be encouraging more people to be producers, inventors, business creators, etc. And yet, these are the most taxed individuals when we tax the wealthy, their investments, and their income. When consumers pay the tax, we encourage more efficient behavior.

For example, I would be happy to see the tax on oil or gas climb faster than inflation, and so should every other environmentalist. And if I see one more Habitat for Humanity homeowner move in with a Lexus SUV, I'm going to find a better place to volunteer. The system we have built encourages people to have a low income and lots of goods, which is exactly what the large corporations that hire lots of people and sell goods want to encourage to keep their corporation sheltered profits high.

Your philosophy that we should adopt a tax based on what impacts the rich the most stems from lumping three groups of people into one. The wealth of this world is divided among the kleptocrats, heirs, and entrepreneurs. I think we all agree that the former should be eliminated. Messing with the second is up for debate, but I'm personally against it. And messing with the third group is unhealthy for your nation. The desire of entrepreneurs to create a better life for their heirs is the reason I'm against strongly taxing them.

Note, the last part was blatantly stolen from rlp [slashdot.org] who said it better than I ever will.