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Federal government put GST/HST or PST on used items sold on eBay


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This is a form of double taxation.  People already paid GST and PST on items when they purchased them new.  Now when they sell them on eBay Canada the buyer must pay these taxes again which amounts to 12% or 14% depending on the province the buyer lives in.  This is in addition to the outrageous postal rates which can be $20 or $30 for a relatively small item.  This must be having a very negative effect on eBay as well as Canadians who buy and sell items on the platform.  This is just one example of the negative effect an interventionist government can have on a country like Canada.   I am trying to complete the sale of an item which I listed for $25 and it ends up costing the buyer $60.   The buyer may refuse to complete.  I can only conclude this really hurts a lot of Canadians who could use a few extra dollars from used items they need to sell.

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You never heard stories about them wanting GST/PST remittances from yard sales and swap meets decades ago? You're supposed to remit, but they don't push it because it's too hard to enforce.
Once you go online, there's an electronic trail and all they need to do is force the websites to collect it for them. Easy pickings, you should have seen it coming.

I used to order vape pods online, but now they have to collect PST for BC even though they're not IN BC, GST, tobacco taxes and restrict what flavours people from each province can buy. Can't even smoke menthols anymore.
Tack oin top of that there's PST/GST/nicotine tax on quit smoking aids, and those have to be hidden from view too 'to protect children'.

We do have many stupid rules, so stupid some are counter-productive.

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1 hour ago, blackbird said:

This is a form of double taxation.  People already paid GST and PST on items when they purchased them new. 

Not necessarily.  There are a lot of wholesalers who buy in bulk and sell new to customers through places like Ebay, effectively circumventing the sales tax.  For used items being sold for less than what you paid, it probably shouldn't apply, but a lot of online selling is just a store or business or wholesaler selling directly to customers.  

1 hour ago, blackbird said:

This must be having a very negative effect on eBay as well as Canadians who buy and sell items on the platform. 

Canada has no reason to worry about the well-being of companies like eBay.  

1 hour ago, blackbird said:

This is just one example of the negative effect an interventionist government can have on a country like Canada.   I am trying to complete the sale of an item which I listed for $25 and it ends up costing the buyer $60.   

Not because of sales tax.  If it costs you $25 to ship an item that costs $25, that's hardly the government's fault, and it's ridiculous that you'd even try to argue it is.  There are numerous private delivery firms that compete for the shipping/parcel business, so use them if you think Canada Post is grifting you.  The HST on a $25 item is what...$3-4?  How on Earth are you blaming the government for the other $30+??? ?

 

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16 minutes ago, Moonbox said:

The HST on a $25 item is what...$3-4?  How on Earth are you blaming the government for the other $30+??? ?

That's not correct.   eBay sent me an Email which said the shipping would be about $28 and the GST/PST would add six dollars plus.   In Ontario the GST plus PST is 14%.   Get this.  They are charging the 14% tax on the $25 item AND on the shipping charge of $28.  That is how they are adding about $6.90 tax onto the deal bringing it up to $59.90.  That is ridiculous.  I think their figures are inflating the costs.  Not sure they should be putting a tax on shipping.  Nothing I can do about it.  I don't think the buyer will complete the purchase.

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Yet I hear everyday I hear people claim they bought a new anvil from China online and they shipped it to Dease Lake, overnight absolutely free!

I did the amazon prime thing for the free shipping, and only discovered later the TV part came with it. Now it's free or faster shipping on some items... from what I remember as a store owner, I did see GST on shipping sometimes. And if I couldn't get an item from a wholesaler, I had to pay $10.70 instead of $10, mark that up and collect and remit PST on the new price.... they double taxed.

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8 hours ago, blackbird said:

That's not correct.   eBay sent me an Email which said the shipping would be about $28 and the GST/PST would add six dollars plus.   

The shipping is irrelevant.  That has nothing to do with the government.  The HST always applied to shipping.  That eBay is getting slapped with HST means your item cost $3-4 more.  

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8 hours ago, Moonbox said:

The shipping is irrelevant.  That has nothing to do with the government.  The HST always applied to shipping.  That eBay is getting slapped with HST means your item cost $3-4 more.  

So tell me this.  If the buyer pays GST/HST 14% to eBay on the shipping charge when he buys the item and then when I ship it at the local post office, I pay GST/PST 12% on the cost of shipping, isn't that paying GST/PST on the shipping twice?  That doesn't make sense.  If that happens, I might want some answers from someone.  I doubt if anybody could justify double charging taxes on shipping.

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45 minutes ago, blackbird said:

So tell me this.  If the buyer pays GST/HST 14% to eBay on the shipping charge when he buys the item and then when I ship it at the local post office, I pay GST/PST 12% on the cost of shipping, isn't that paying GST/PST on the shipping twice?  That doesn't make sense. 

That doesn't make sense.  I suspect you're goofing something up and not reading it right.  . 

If you're selling on eBay and shipping it yourself (rather than using one of the tied-in services that eBay offers), then eBay couldn't/shouldn't charge HST.  What would they charge it on?  They have no idea what the final cost is when you go to Canada Post. 

If you're shipping from Canada, whoever ships it will charge you HST, and aside from international duties that should be the end of it.    

 

 

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Why is there an HST on the emissions charge? What "harmonized service" has been provided, to who?

OhMG this is brilliant! No, stay with me: what if we begin chargin HST on the income tax, for the great service you know (still no consistent and functional online tax return option, G7, Canada, closing on the second quarter of the 21st century)? Why, wouldn't it fix all our problems, health care, the army with RCMP on top, clean water? And maybe a few crumbs to bump up MP rewards, still could be improved. No think about it, yes we can and who said we couldn't?

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2 hours ago, Moonbox said:

That doesn't make sense.  I suspect you're goofing something up and not reading it right.  . 

If you're selling on eBay and shipping it yourself (rather than using one of the tied-in services that eBay offers), then eBay couldn't/shouldn't charge HST.  What would they charge it on?  They have no idea what the final cost is when you go to Canada Post. 

If you're shipping from Canada, whoever ships it will charge you HST, and aside from international duties that should be the end of it.    

 

 

It looks like eBay made a mistake.  They sent me an email with the list of charges and it listed GST/HST of six dollars and something. They were obviously charging tax on the shipping charge of about $28..  But you're right.  HST should only be on the item.  I pay the tax on shipping at the post office. Doesn't matter now.  Looks like buyer is not buying it.

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29 minutes ago, blackbird said:

Looks like buyer is not buying it.

Like I said, trying to buy something for $25 that ships for more than $25 is usually silly.  Unless you're collecting something rare/specific, you can probably go on Kijiji locally and buy the same thing for $40, but no shipping (or better).   

29 minutes ago, blackbird said:

The government charges GST or PST tax on carbon taxes.  Another scam.

That doesn't really make any sense.  

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It is dumb but it is true; double tax. The why is because, imagine, I sell a Rolex for $5 and enter $12,000 shipping and handling. Haha I found a loophole! EBay only gets their cut on $5 and ditto for government. This is how they justified shipping being taxed and feed. (Full disclosure; i always used to have exaggerated shipping and lower price - same in the end right? Pathologically too - guy B charges 2$ more for shipping but product is 1.75 cheaper. He might seem a better but subconsciously. 
 

Only my two cent (0.02x113%) 2.26 cents worth (rounded down to nearest nickel) just my 0$ cents worth…..

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