17/05/2019
eBay Introduces ways to collect Internet Seller Tax
eBay Introduces ways to collect Internet Seller TaxOne of the hottest topics in the US in regards to internet sales is the introduction of Internet Seller Tax which now applies even to marketplaces in several states. It is expected that this legislation will expand to even more states in the US in the next period, and that will have certain consequences to all sellers operating on this marketplace within those geographies.
eBay has introduced an automated tax collection and they will cover that part for all the sellers, but they were quite open by saying that they see this move as unfair towards the small companies and individual sellers. Nevertheless, the rule is already enforced and there is little eBay can do except to advocate for their sellers and obey the law.
The downside of the entire rule is that the sellers are not able to filter the states in which they wish to sell their goods, and they are unable to turn off the listings in the states where the rule is in effect. The only good aspect to it is that everything is pretty much automated at the moment and that they can cover this tax without any special involvement. Still, they are obliged to cover the paperwork, and in order to be able to fully understand what is required, they should pay close attention to the changes in the terms and conditions. Optionally, they could turn to TaxJar or Avalara for further clarification.
These rules apply to all the sellers, regardless of their geography, so this is a change of rules that will affect many.
All in all, this is yet another obstacle that shows up, but it is not expected that it will affect eBay as much as it will affect small sellers who lack the capacity to deal with all the changes.
The next few months will provide the first solid data on how this impacts the overall business via eBay, but the results should not be dramatic.