When you  are already in a hole it is a good idea to stop digging

You have no idea what level of expertise Lyndal and I have of either ebay or the ATO.

We have both been members for many years, I sold on ebay in the UK before the Australian site even existed,  I now sell seasonally in Australia on three different ids so yes I do know a lot about how ebay works and no I don't work for them. I think it is unlikely that either ebay or the ATO would be interested in employing a disabled grandmother well past her sell by date 😉

If you don't want a discussion when you post ask your question in the Answer Centre and not on the Discussion Board!

In case you read this baby*toddler*child you are probably not allowed to take over an ebay account so be careful. Anyone who reads this thread can report you. You should open your own ebay account.

No my daughter in law started the business but it all got too much for her she has handed it over to me, after it was not trading for a period of time.

this complicates matters greatly.

as ebay seller accounts are non-transferrable, it'll be your DiL who is still up for the tax and centerlink reporting of the figures as all ebay invoices will be in her name.

As she had this ID as a very successful business back in 2011tax year, and years before that,  why not approach her accountant and see if he can sort something out for the two of you to submit to the tax office, i.e. she'll have the tax liability but could claim fees for you as her 'Agent' selling items on her behalf.

The ATO has thousands of employees, so they certainly have capacity for people monitoring these fora. I live in Canberra and almost every second person I know, including relatives, works at the ATO.

Please don't call me a liar, thanks! 🙂

The ATO has thousands of employees, so they certainly have capacity for people monitoring these fora. I live in Canberra and almost every second person I know, including relatives, works at the ATO.   Please don't call me a liar, thanks! 🙂

The question is still-what on earth would they achieve by monitoring an internet forum that is frequented by such a miniscule amount of ebayers-most of whom post under either buying ids or posting ids ???

Sorry,but that just sounds too ridiculous/far fetched for words IMO

The benefit : cost ratio of utilising ATO employees to monitor eBay fora would just not be worth it, compared to employing those same people to see if they can squeeze a couple of extra $million out of BHP or James Packer.

The ATO concentrates their energies on where they get the most financial gain, and it's most likely NOT here.

I live in Canberra. Next time I see somebody who works at the Tax Office, I'll ask. Because I don't know any personally. Because they are a very small proportion of the total ACT workforce.

Isn't most of the ATO located in Albury these days?

Most GST related matters are located in Albury.

I regularly deal with 3 different departments of the ATO located in different cities...none of them in Canberra.

The ATO's newish office was supposed to co-locate all the Head Office staff, which is pretty much all the Canberra staff.

It was designed to house 4,200 people.

There are a lot of departments with many more than that number of employees in Canberra.

Defence (not even counting the armed forces)

Foreign Affairs

Immigration

FaHCSIA

Human Services

Probably a few others - Health, Education...