The Taxman,s On The Hunt, Who's Next?

dave289 · 31-07-2010, 01:26 PM

Just saw this article , dont know if its been discussed before or not.

http://www.news.com.au/money/money-m...-1225898807931

While I do have an ebay account I have not used it much lately. I have bought and sold a few things over the years but I dont run it as a buisiness or anything, but I'm sure there are a few out there who may hit the panic button, I have noticed some sellers who have sold thousands of items and could get stung with a nice tax bill from the beloved taxman, are you in trouble ?

Franco Cozzo · 31-07-2010, 01:37 PM

I think its only in the last 3 years and people who done over $20,000 of sales.

Riksta · 31-07-2010, 04:31 PM

I only use it to buy the odd rare hot wheels car and lately been looking at bits for the FD on there.

Think I'm pretty safe since I've been buying and not selling!

duaned · 31-07-2010, 06:27 PM

I say good on the ATO for this. Most businesses do the right thing, but many that I know do not including hairdressers/barbers, taxi drivers and delicatessen owners. I will let the ATO do some work and find out who these are on their own.

Kryton · 31-07-2010, 06:37 PM

Every couple of years this is announced and never heard of again.

silicon · 01-08-2010, 08:47 AM

This is what I received in my inbox, it is a genuine Ebay message. I have tripped the $20k mark by selling a car for a mate a few years ago.

Hello xxxxx (xxxx@xxxx.net.au),

eBay has received a request from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for information relating to members of www.ebay.com.au who had sales greater than AU $20,000 in any given year during the period 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2009.

Our records reflect that you had sales greater than AU $20,000 in at least one of these financial years. As a result, the ATO has requested the following information:

? Contact name and user ID
? Email Address and IP Address
? Company /Business Number and ABN
? Address
? Telephone numbers
? Date of Birth
? Registration Date
? Banking Account Details
? Monthly sales for the period 1 July 2007 ? 30 June 2009

We can confirm that eBay has and will continue to work with the ATO to provide them with the information we are legally required to provide. Disclosure of this information is permitted in accordance with our Privacy Policy. eBay will be the ones to provide this information to the ATO.

For further information regarding the ATO, please visit its website at www.ato.gov.au, or consult with your professional legal or tax adviser.

Sincerely,
The eBay Team

Please note: Replies to this email will not be reviewed and responded to.

FGII-XR6 · 01-08-2010, 09:02 AM

the smart ones will just do $15K then syart a new account to avaiod this. they could run many accounts like this and avoid detection and they could be re used every year providing they stay well below $15K each year

Franco Cozzo · 01-08-2010, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by au3xr6

the smart ones will just do $15K then syart a new account to avaiod this. they could run many accounts like this and avoid detection and they could be re used every year providing they stay well below $15K each year

Its a bit sus if you have 50 ebay accounts all linked to the same bank account and coming from the same range of IP adresses or same MAC ID.

FGII-XR6 · 01-08-2010, 10:08 AM

bit it would dodge tracking also you don't need to use the same bank account 10 accounts would mean $150K a year . and the IP and MAC issue can be overcome as well
I not saying you should do this just that only the stupid ones will get caught in this trap the smart ones will cover their tracks well and move deeper underground

Franco Cozzo · 01-08-2010, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by au3xr6

bit it would dodge tracking also you don't need to use the same bank account 10 accounts would mean $150K a year . and the IP and MAC issue can be overcome as well
I not saying you should do this just that only the stupid ones will get caught in this trap the smart ones will cover their tracks well and move deeper underground

Is it really worth trying to escape the tax man? Just pay them the money to avoid spending some time in the slammer later on down the track when they eventually catch on.

FGII-XR6 · 01-08-2010, 10:28 AM

you and think like that ( but I didn't many years ago) but there are those that will work hard at tax avoidance

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Is it really worth trying to escape the tax man? Just pay them the money to avoid spending some time in the slammer later on down the track when they eventually catch on.

FG XR · 01-08-2010, 11:02 AM

only for ebay businesses and large transactions..

People who sell the odd thing or 2 is just like selling something in the paper, who declares that?!?

geckoGT · 01-08-2010, 12:06 PM

The average ebay user is not going to get caught by this, even if you sell a car (+$20k) because the tax man is not interested in the proceeds of a sale on an item you sold at a loss.