Question
Australian Tax Office Investigates eBay PowerSellers
Read about it in AuctionBytes and it has a link to a discussion board thread :
thread here
Is the ATO the equivalent of the US' IRS agency?
Answer
G'day Katiyana,
Yes, I saw reference to it on the adjacent board. My books are the best they have been all my life, so I am not bothered. There is some very clear tax evasion on Ebay, and it is no surprise that the tax department would look at it closely (just as they have raided flea markets in the past).
The ATO is the Australian Tax Office - the Aussie equivalent of your IRS.
I made some other comments in this adjacent here thread.
Going to have a look at the thread that you linked to now (I didn't earlier).
Cheers, Kevin
Answer
WOW! Now that is chilling. The ATO has a very weird idea as to what a 'power-seller' is at Ebay. I wonder if they were actually only interested in the high volume sellers, maybe as a research measurement of a potential new tax growth base, and someone got it screwed up and asked for all of it?
Answer
G'day Powerhouse,
I am not a power seller.
I make most of my income on Ebay (at this stage).
Why not check out the nature of everyone trading on Ebay, to determine who is making a taxable income and not declaring it? A lot of money is being lost to the tax system (ie: public infrastructure) on Ebay (and in many other areas of undeclared economy).
Kind Regards, Kevin