Oh George Orwell, or is it: "Oh mankind"? Because Big Brother is rearing its ugly head even when selling - or transitioning ownership - lamps to other enthousisasts in this world. What happened is that when I was preparing an invoice - nowadays a highly automated process - for a winning bidder in the US of A, a wopping £37 VAT or so miraculously was added into the equation. After searching a long and tedious time (getting things clear with Ebay is like wading through molasses) I finally found an answer on Google. In general, most citizens need to declare any goods received from abroad (purchase price plus shipping expenses) to their own customs or tax department, we all being good citizens, right? However, that number of loyal taxpayers was rather modest appearantly, and to increase revenue - it has been suggested Trump needs bucks for that wall in the South - this import tax is being levelled at the source: the seller or shipper. Appearantly Ebay has struck a deal with a majority of US states (plus Australia and NZ as well if I am not mistaken) to fascilitate such tax innings by automaticly adding the tax based on the invoice value. So, you won or simply bought a lamp abroad and you want it home, you pay the relevant tax on the exported-to-you good(s). Mind, the seller has nothing to do with this, and is not involved in the financial side of it either. Whatever tax is thus paid, goes directly into some account controlled by Ebay. As a seller, I just receive money for the good and for the charged shipping expenses as usual. I am not happy with this. Not because I am an advocate for tax evasion, but for this Big Brother phenomenon, in which I am getting involved without me having any say in it. I have nothing to do with living in the US, Australia or New Zealand, yet I find myself instrumental in taxing my faraway client's purse. And no doubt any other client in the rest of the world if this mechanism will stay. For the shareholders of Ebay this is fantastic news no doubt. It is anybody's guess how much of a cut Ebay is taking, but for those hungry for money, it is a stroke of genius. Whether this can stand legally is to be seen, morally it stinks and ethicly I find this unacceptable, as now, as a seller on Ebay, I am made part of Big Brother. This sucks, my friends. Mike P.S. I am selling almost exclusively through the british e-bay site.
I do not buy anything from the US anymore if i dont have to, to much taxes, and huge shipping costs, and longer shipping times, i prefer buying from UK, or other EU countries. much cheaper. So nowadays i collect mainly Tilleys and Bialaddins instead of colemans.
According to my understanding, I don't pay VAT here in the US. I THINK... VAT applies to the EU and UK. I've never paid it. However, they make up for it by charging like hell with shipping/handling! This is a no win situation regardless where you live! We are simply screwed... There have been occasions where I had to paid more to ship a package from the US west coast to my address here on the east coast than I did to ship a package from the UK to my address here! Go figure....
George, I never got an answer when I questioned brit Ebay about that. But since I operate on a british site, I rate shipping in Pounds Sterling, and is this automated added tax named VAT or Value Added Tax by Ebay. Supposedly this is similar to any import taxes you would have to pay. This would also prevent any lower value declaration on sent parcels, so this will make many a hobby a more expensive activity. TTT (thanks to trump) US postal rates doubled, and I am happy that I have no hankering after goods from the US anymore. The bottomline is that this world gets less pleasant, bit by bit. There are many more important factors like our environment, but all this adds to a life under increasing control and indeed, costs. As for shipping rates, they all depend on how goods are transported in a vast network, that is also depending on what arrangement couriers make among themselves. Sometimes the cheapest rates are accomplished by shipping in the wrong direction initially. That you might pay more for a national delivery is entirely possible. At one time this was confirmed by a buyer in Honolulu, but then, dutch rates are (still) among the lowest too. Regards, Mike
Mike, My understanding is only countries that belong to the EU or UK pay that VAT. I don't live there so not sure. I know I have never paid it. However, that doesn't stop other type taxes from popping up! We didn't pay state tax on items from Amazon until they moved a warehouse to the state where I live. Now they have to collect state tax! Like the old saying: "Only two sure things in this world - death and taxes"!
George, the invoice I prepared on brit ebay was hiked by an unexpected £37.00 specified as VAT. Not correct if you ask me, but that was how it was mentioned. The person in the US paid me, and thus likely that VAT as well. If this transpires to be the same amount this person would have paid as import tax in the US, than it does not matter how it is called, would it not?
In Australia it's called GST (Goods and services tax) and is applicable to all purchases within Australia. It has now been applied to overseas purchases on the Internet. When browsing ebay international sites in Australia the listing is flaged 10% GST applies. So its not a surprise at the checkout.
I've noticed it too over the last 2 months a tax added on that the purchaser has to pay, so far Australia and America it's shown up on
eBay has started collecting sales tax on behalf of the state of residence of the buyer for purchases within the United States. I was rudely made aware of this last year on a large transaction. We had enjoyed years, decades actually, of no sales tax for purchases that were mailed from out of state. That all came to an end here in the U.S. with an unfavorable Supreme Court ruling. But my liberal friends all want higher taxes, so at least they’ve got something to be thankful for these days. My solution has been simple. I rarely buy anything on eBay. I buy privately over at CCF. Private transaction and no government gets their hands in anyone’s pockets.
@Tyler Hall I think they have started collecting since 2 months ago, I did received a notice before this Taxation and now we all (me and the liberal "friends") we are paying taxes for every transaction on eBay. TAXATION IS A THIEF
Mike The aim of right wing ideologues in the U.S. government and the libertarian rightist businessmen who have funded them has been to shift the tax burden in America away from corporations and the wealthy to America's little man, their final victory was Trump's tax laws that said interest groups massively and exclusively benefited from. The aim isn't to build the Wall but for the wealthy to keep their fortunes and not fund social democracy. These same interests want to starve the federal government of tax revenue and shrink it only to military and policing power while they control the market and its the market that becomes totalitarian, the real Big Brother. Some rightist members of our government also wanted to bring VAT to America, tough sell that. lol Cities and states in America operate government and services based on their own tax revenue and federal funding. Both of those sources of funding have been in decline for decades for cities and states. Regressing the tax system means the little guys pick up the bill and pay increased taxes and fees for services that before were government provided. Too states are going for revenue where the money is, by trying to get mega wealthy tech firms to pay and fill the void where before there was federal government assistance .
And there you go You do know sales tax is imposed by the individual states Hanzo (or whatever your real name is). State sales taxes have been in place a long time. It’s just now that they are crossing state lines...and if facts are to be relied on, it really has nothing to do with the current president. Of course, the hate is strong, irrational and relentless. Even a tax cut is somehow twisted into a tax increase
@Tive @M.Meijer When I buy from Amazon or eBay for delivery to Sweden the local tax is non (0%) and they usually charge the Swedish tax when billed so I only have to pick up the package. If not, I only pay Swedish tax and the service charge when the package arrive here. If I use the Norwegian shipping company Jetcarrier, which have a facility in New Jersey where I can have items shipped when the seller do not want to ship abroad, I pay local tax. They take care of the Swedish tax without service charge and their shipping costs are lower than other shipping options, like USPS. It is usually cheaper to use Jetcarrier than the direct shipping options. I find it very odd that eBay charge British VAT for items bought outside UK. Or was it the US tax? That would be more logical. Michael
How correct is it to pay tax over an second hand object ? Tax is already paid for at the first purchase.
That's what I object to, paying tax on second hand goods. If I go to a garage sale, I don't pay it so why do I have to pay it online? Let's be real, eBay is an online garage sale. In Australia, there was a campaign with almost zombie fervour by the retailers here to impose this GST tax because they felt they were missing out, that everyone was rushing to the internet...this tax would reset the board they argued, the so called "level playing field" argument. Of course they didn't bank on goods still being cheaper, even after this Orwellian move. Case in point, a 424 stove picked up for a birthday present online from the States, aud150 delivered rather than the 250 the comparable item goes for here. Its just a shame shipping charges are killing this trade as frequently, for me at least, the shipping charge is 2.5 to 3 times the value of the lantern unless you can secure it with BezozBay These guys Have an unbelievable ability to ship items, even heavy, bulky things for pennies when compared to your average Joe. Anyways, we keep looking...cos the people will always prevail!
I agree it's a joke to have to pay tax on a second hand object. What I particularly hate about Australia's GST tax on ebay is, they apply it to shipping costs as well. Shipping costs are out of control then ebay taxes it at 10% and now my government taxes it a further 10% for something that isn't a tangible object that I can later re-sell and get my money back on. It is outrageous that shipping is taxed by both ebay and my government. @Tyler Hall Well said.
Well, like I said earlier, only sure things in this old world is death and taxes.... World wide taxing of the internet is next, just wait....
Matty One of the main litigants of the ebay tax is the state of Oklahoma. Why? Oklahoma is broke, skint, busted. Why? Because Oklahoma followed Tyler's and the Republican recipe for state financial ruin. Massive social spending cuts combined with the elimination of corporate tax and cuts to state income tax. Okay ,what followed ,money in the state is distributed upward toward its most wealthy and Oklahoma can't operate state services because there's no revenue for even basic operation of government, health, safety , education etc. So what logically follows from this regressive tax regime , more regression in the form of consumption taxes like the ebay's state collection of taxes because the state has to find revenue because the state actually has to operate at even a minimal level of service provision and the state won't tax the people with money. A real problem for Americans is that the Trump Tax Reform Laws brought this same recipe for disaster to the national level . Its not a recipe for economic growth but merely economic distribution of wealth upwards , that's the theory and the practice. People like Tyler and George's American silent majority are not wealthy Americans and really won't benefit at all from Conservative/Right Wing/Libertarian economic plans and tax policies, they are made to benefit the people with money , the little guy pays the price for them . So why be a turkey who votes for Christmas and then say " I didn't know I'd be eaten".
I like lamps and lanterns ...... I love the interaction with all the lampies on this lamp forum because it’s productive, educational and creative, plus more. One of the benefits of this forum is that the diverse people’s of the world can chat and be together over a common subject ....... the wonderful world of lamps and the like. Maybe it would be an idea if all should remember what this forum is for and it’s huge asset being the accumulation of knowledge and the camaraderie it fosters. Politics and religion are important and deserve their own forums, this is not it. Kind regards Pete
@AussiePete Pete, how right you are... This is no place for political opinions. Opinions are like as.hol.s, everybody's got one! I should have kept my mouth shut and my opinions to myself. Besides, I like lantern collecting way more than politics!
Thank you all for your reactions. I felt the need to break this news as a relevant topic, as many of us buy global, if occasionally. It is not to start a political discussion, even if just as relevant and interesting to me as collecting lamps. Quite rightly it is mentioned this is a lamp collecting site that should unite us in this hobby. On a philosophical note, the fact that we are here means that we have a relative wealthy life, taxes or not. Most people in this world do not have the money, nor the notion, to buy obsolete objects from far away, that will never be used in their practical capacity. Compared to that, my rant is completely insignificant. Mike
In Germany its the same nonsense. If you buy from abroad, you have to pay vat and customs import tax on both, item value plus shipping cost. Thats ridiculous. Even for 2nd hand items. And from feb onwards, we will have the same for imports from uk. .... Pity.
Willi, are you sure? Untill Brexit kicks in, there are no import taxes levelled on goods from Britain in our countries as she still is a member of the EEC. Perhaps it is next year you have been thinking of instead of next month? Mike
@bp4willi Re UK and Brexit. It is my belief that there will be no change to the way we currently do business until 31 Dec 20. There is a interim agreement in place until this time - hope this gives me enough time to stock up on Petromax parts!
