Fees being charged for the amount of SALES TAX Ebay is collecting for each sale

[0ldgeezer]

I am really curious to know if I am the only seller who has caught on to this scam by Paypal. I have examined the last few sales I have had on Ebay. Ebay has charged the buyer for Sales Tax on the sale. Then that GROSS amount which includes the Item, Shipping, SALES TAX is collected by Paypal. Then Ebay pulls the shipping cost from my Paypal Account and and Paypal takes their fee from the rest of the payment (Including the SALES TAX). So for those last few sales I noticed a differnce of .03 - .04 more in Paypal FEES dues to the sales tax collected by Ebay. Why do I have to pay additional Paypal FEEs for Ebay to collect a sales tax which is not required for them to do directly (except for CA). I am not making any profit on the sales tax. The Sales Tax is a FEE for certain states being collected by Ebay, not by the sellers.

I have spoken to customer service at both Ebay and Paypal. I was told it was not them it was the other. So the merry go round is spinning and nobody it taking responsibility. So, I issued a complaint on Consumer Affairs, the NY State AG, and next to the BBB.

The Ebay policy on Sales Tax states:

"Once ebay starts to collect sales tax in the required states, no action is required on your part, and there will be no charges or fees for eBay automatically calculating, collecting, and remitting sales tax."

Obviously they don't follow their own policies.

[dday3]

**bleep** can't believe it.

[ramseydc]

Not sure the status of some of you that have expressed interest in a Class Action Lawsuit, but the following link is to a site that tracks open class action law suits. Possibly they could provide guidance to anyone interested.

topclassactions dot com

Email questions to <removed>

Sorry for the cryptic address, but paypal filter does not allow address links.

For those of you not familiar, this organization provides a weekly mailing with status of open class action lawsuits to which you can become a claimant. I have gotten several claims (generally small amounts) for products that we have used in the past. Very little effort required.

[Darkeyes]

I looked at a recent transaction, and I couldn't figure out why the fee was higher than it should have been. I realized that PayPal charged a fee on the sales tax. That's not right. I feel that I'm getting cheated since I didn't get anything from the tax collected. That's not mine so why should I pay a fee on it? Maybe the state should pay a fee on it since PayPal is doing the collecting for them. All I know is that it shouldn't come out of my small profit. I already paid EBay, PayPal and fees on the shipping (I don't agree with that fee either).  It's not right.

[Colvin2018]

Not sure about U.S but I know Canadian businesses get a small percentage for collecting taxes. I am guessing Ebay doesnt want to lose the profit so we get the fee.

[pakipackages]

eBay is not connected with Amazon. Before some time I want to buy some things for Paki Packages. This is not available on amazon.

[kenaus87]

I know this sucks and totally understand the feelings if injustice. But I'm not sure what the issue is other than transparency. You have a right to know and to understand. I believe Paypal is not intentionally sneaky here but that's just my opinion. The charge itself seems reasonable given the service. There are over 10,000 state and local sales taxing authorities in the US. Unless you're selling in one of the 5 no sales tax states like Alaska, you would have to register with the relevant tax authorities in all those states and determine the appropriate state and local sales taxes you are legally liable for in all those jurisdictions. Paypal and ebay etc are required to report your sales volume to all those jurisdictions and each jurisdiction has a legal right to come after you for those and charge fees and interest if you fail to remit. For the published fee of 2 to 3.5 pct of total transaction Paypal is taking care of all this for you. Alternatively you could figure out a way to do cash or credit transactions on your own without paypal and then figure out 10,000 tax codes on your own. Paypal is not forcing you to do business with them. You are free to manage sales transactions however and with whomever you want with or without services like PayPal. What you're getting is a service for a price and if you decide it's not worth it don't use Paypal. Notably, ever time you swipe tap or phone pay your credit card on a purchase somewhere, that sad sack merchant is paying 1 to 2% on the WHOLE transaction, INCLUDING TAXES, to Visa or MC or more to Amex. The only ones that avoid that ask for cash only , give cash discount or charge a fee. The cost is potentially lost sales. If some podunk no-name vendor doesn't offer paypal for a secure transaction and wants your credit card? Honestly who amongst us , as consumers, would trust Joe bag-o-donuts' wifi and network security and risk our cards vs using paypal? Heck even Home Depot could get hacked so their paypal option is mighty appealing.

[Colvin2018]

Well it is an issue beyond the fee. I am Canadian and use mailbox in Washington State. I buy and eBay charges 10% State tax, I ship home another 13%. I sell and customer pays tax " eBay collecting tax " I have 0 to do with tax. I get money and extra fee paid for eBay collecting tax. I go to a store and know I will pay tax, store cant say well you pay a fee for me collecting tax. eBay said before collecting tax no change to sellers. Well I sell and pay a fee, collect money same thing, pay CDN tax on fees pay extra 0.04% if buyer from U.S. I pay 2 country taxes and have to file to get U.S tax back....I dont get tax money so shouldnt cover fee in collecting unless I get a cut of taxes eBay collects.

[xpert66]

@kenaus87  You are totally missing the point. What they are doing is 100% unethical and corporate greed. Paypal is NOT doing anything for us. It's their job to adhere to state and government rules and their job to collect. We did not ask to collect sales tax. Would you be OK with banks charging extra fees on your mortgage per month or any business collecting extra fees to help with store mainteneance, employee salaries, etc.? It is bad enough they double dipped when they charged fees on eBay then again by using PayPal AND when they collected extra money on shipping charges!