ATO Request for Data

[clarry100]

This is the first time we have received one of these since we have been trading on eBay.

Anyone else?

[daddykool-123]

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@joethenuts wrote:

hi you said you dont think you met the threshold   [ theres no threshold] your income from $1 onwards   is takings that must be put in your tax return ifn you are buying and selling , which is income , and makes part of your yearly earnings,

the $10.000  which was $20.000 a couple of years ago , is what the ato wants from ebay otherwise ebay would have to send  it for everyone from $1 sales for the year.

if ebay sent it to the ato this year  , and then next year they dont because your sales were only $9000 , and there is nothing in next years tax form from income from ebay  the ato can ask for your sales that year.

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For once, I'm in agreement.

Every single dollar you make from Selling anything here is supposed to be declared on your income tax as "any other income".

The ATO ALWAYS wants its pound of flesh.

We can rant all we want on the discussion boards but unless someone takes a stand, we all know that eBay will send the details anyway. Even if it's illegal to do so.

D.K.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

So, I bought my stock with MY money that I've already been taxed on?

If you then sold your stock for more than you paid then that profit is income and is taxable.  If income after tax is able to be used to generate non-taxable profit/income then we would not be paying tax on bank interest earned on savings, yet there is no threshold on interest earned, every dollar earned in interest is taxable.

[asianantiquemaps]

I'm not disputing whether ebay should send the data to ATO. Never mentioned that. Don't have issues with that. I simply want ebay to send me the same info and to provide sellers with option for yearly sales data rather than monthly, since they have this data anyway. 

[joethenuts]

it would be easier  if they did

[joethenuts]

k1ooo    pick me up i just fell of my chair 2 days in a row. mr cool agrees with me.  amazing

to mr cool at least theres 1 good thing about  ebay stopping you sell those i***y handles knifes, you wont have to pay income tax on them .  have a nice day.

[lyndal1838]

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@daddykool-123 wrote:

No!  Enough. Complain. This is NOT right!

If I had your IP address, I can find the house you live in.

D.K. - Senior Software Project Manager

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There are plenty of other ways to find the house someone lives in.

Buyers can find it if there is a return address on a parcel. If they get the seller's phone number from ebay they can use the Reverse directory to find the address.

If you are referring to the information requested by the ATO...they don't need the IP address as they have asked for the sellers full name and registered address.

[asianantiquemaps]

eBay are truly a terrible company when it comes to customer service. I just got a call from eBay CS about my request for them to send me the same info they gave sent to ATO. As I mentioned before, this is a legal right under Australian privacy laws and is also covered by ebays own privacy policy. I checked.

The ebay rep told me that even though they have the info and sent it to ATO, because another division of analysts did it, they can't send it to me. What a complete crock. I'm going to pursue this all the way, as nothing gets my goat more than big companies who act like this. 

They have a privacy policy and australia has privacy laws. No matter how they try to avoid it, they have to comply, even if they don't want to and think they can treat their customers with impunity.

[lyndal1838]

I am rather surprised that they will not give it to you.

I am sure some posters requested it last year and got it.

Good luck....I hope you can get what you want.

[asianantiquemaps]

Hi DK, not sure if your reply was directed at me or another 'ranting' poster.  As I've said before, I have no issues whatsoever with ebay sending the details to ATO. I'm quite happy to declare my income to ATO. And I disagree that's it might be illegal for ebay to do so - it's entirely legal and proper for them to send the info to ATO.

My issue is, as I said in my last post, that I have the right to know and see what ebay has sent, so I can be sure that what I declare is the same as what they have sent. My experience and that of many sellers is that ebay is not a perfect machine and can and does makes mistakes.

Ebays refusal to allow me to see what they have actually sent to the ATO, which is against their very own privacy policies which state that sellers have the right to ask what personal information that ebay has about them and shares with 3rd parties, is my biggest beef with them. Surely I have the right to see what ebay has sent about me? Australian law says clearly that I do too. 

My request to see the info from eBay is a very simple one but it seems I hit some raw nerve in ebay which is showing that they are not willing to implement their own policies and be transparent with me....

I'm a strong believer in big companies being transparent with customers on what data they have about you. Being passive about it only encourages them to not allow you to see what is in fact, your own information and ignore their own policies and the law. 

[lyndal1838]

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@asianantiquemaps wrote:

My issue is, as I said in my last post, that I have the right to know and see what ebay has sent, so I can be sure that what I declare is the same as what they have sent. My experience and that of many sellers is that ebay is not a perfect machine and can and does makes mistakes.

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Declaring the same information that ebay has sent the ATO is the very thing you should not be doing if that information is incorrect.

Ebay will tell the ATO all the sales that have gone through your account whether they are business or hobby/private sales and the amounts will include postage.