Pressure Builds For eBay To Rat Out Sellers To IRS

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Now I've bought quite a few car parts on eBay; in addition to having more used parts than the biggest junkyard you ever saw, eBay is also a great source for NOS stuff. It was a relief when the pawnbrokers weren't able to ram through their pet bill requiring California eBay sellers to get fingerprinted and licensed, but now there's pressure looming to get eBay to report all sellers' transactions to The Man. Since big-time eBay sellers already report their income to the IRS or face the steely glare of auditors- The Man knows when you're making real money on eBay, because unless your buyers pay cash (not bloody likely) the money's gonna hit a bank account at some point- this would have the effect of scaring away all the guys selling the box of old parts gathering dust in the garage.

IRS urged to go after eBay sellers [San Francisco Chronicle]

Related:
IRS Seizes Man's 1967 Ferrari 330 P4 for Back Taxes [internal]