ATO & eBay selling bullion, paying tax

I just got notification from eBay that the ATO has requested that all people that have sold over $10,000 on eBay during the last financial year, Including Postage! will be sent to the tax office.

I know this has been done for a couple years now.

But when it comes to selling bullion, or even personal affects, I don't think it's fair.
what if your a flipper not for profit, you buy bullion, change your mind and sell it to buy different bullion with the funds?
same as selling an old couch, I may of gotten $50 for it but I spent $500 for a new one.

I went through my eBay invoices and it looks like I did $10,049 can you believe that?
49 measly dollars over and only there would of been $500+ in postage costs in that.

So how do I differentiate what I sold as business and what I sold as personal?
I'm late with my tax this year so i'm onto it now but I fear i'll be paying a lot of tax for nothing,
i'm just a low income earner as it is, they are making out i'm a full on ebay business just because I flipped some bullion over it seems.

So how do I do it? Do I put in the full amount as an earning or is there something I say that shows a large portion is private stuff?

This is what I just got..

ATO data request and your eBay Account

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has issued eBay with a formal request for information relating to sales by Australian eBay members who sold over $10,000 worth of goods and services on ebay.com.au during the period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015.

The ATO has requested the following information in relation to affected sellers:
Account name
Account identification
First name
Last name
Business name
Address
Telephone numbers
Date of Birth
Email address
Registration Date
Number of annual sales transactions
Value of annual sales transactions
Internet Protocol (IP) address
Seller status tier type
Store indicator
eBay is legally required to comply with this request for information. We confirm that the disclosure will be made to the ATO by 30 October 2015 in accordance with required timeframes.

 

I honestly think you should be OK right at the $10,000 limit. They'll probably just send a warning notice about what is a business vs hobby.

It is concerning that the ATO would set the data collection at $10K. Earning more than $10K in profit is one of the tests to determine whether it's a 'business' or a 'hobby'. It seems extremely unlikely that anyone selling $10,000 on ebay would have anywhere near $10k in profit. It would probably need to be closer to $40K, and for precious metals probably $500K.

 

its fake email

open ur ebay message dont have this email
i just received 20mins ago

 

my sales 1million each year
only claim tax with my tax accountant
he can does everything for u
dont need to send any details to ebay or ato

im sure you received fake email
if ebay send u email u must received in both ebay message box and ur personal email box

as long as no receive in ebay box that mean all fake

 

Yep.
They send you a friendly flier in the mail stating that you may be unaware of the differences. If you get that flier, do not push your luck the next year and all will be fine.

 

Just another reason to stay away from eBay. Not only do they rort on the fees, there's the fact they will happily turn over your data on request.

Instead, buy small amounts from your local dealer & keep each day's purchase under $5K. You can also deal with members here - many good sellers who will F2F when required.

Stack quietly, all the better if it's completely silent. One day it might just mean they don't knock on your door.

 

ebay dont know ur profit
why worry
as long as u claim reasonable honesty income to ato

sales under 75000$ all be safedont need to register on gst with ato

as i said this is fake email 100% for sure

 

If it's a legal requirement to hand over the data then it's not the fault of eBay. They should provide the data. It's the requirement itself we should be critical of.

This is getting harder every year. You might be surprised at the amount of missing information that can be inferred indirectly from the fusion of various data sources. It's only going to get worse. But this doesn't mean you shouldn't be very very careful.

 

Or maybe not- https://www.ato.gov.au/printfriendly.aspx?url=/General/Gen/Data-matching-program-protocol/

 

i know ato request details from ebay is true

but this email is 100% fake
i received too and called the ato and ebay
they told me never sent to me today

ato just linked with ebay
but u dont need to send details to ato

just in case if ato request this u must provide it

im selling on ebay 10years
never got any pro
ato never give me troubles
just must claim tax every year on time is enough

 

If it is handing over data in respect to a court-issued Warrant - no problem. But that is not happening here.

Fully agree. But it's all the more reason to keep yourself under the radar at all times.

Pay cash. CASH. Not card.

Stay under reportable limits.

Buy & trade privately - especially on the larger buys wherever possible.

 

I'm afraid I have to disagree with everyone on this.

If you are selling over $10,000 p.a. worth of coins, which may be 400 oz of silver, you are running a business or you can prove otherwise.

Secondly, if you're staying under the radar, paying cash, and one day you have $100,000 of silver, it is drug/stolen/untaxed money, unless you can prove otherwise.

For years we have prided ourselves in being under the radar, it no longer washes in this day and age. We have to change the paradigm, we have to be squeaky clean. I had car problems yesterday, I thought shit, I'll buy a new car. Can I turn up at a car yard with $25,000 cash? Can I deposit it into my bank account? What's empowered me for a decade is now enfeebling me!

I have started selling all my fifties in order to buy them back from the LCSs in order to legitimise my stack. Similarly now, I'll have to save plus discreetly add to my bank account in order to get a new car.

When the ATO/cops/thugs come to my door, I'll have not much to worry about.

 

I just contacted ebay, it is a legitimate email

 

Presumption of innocence is still fundamental to our Australian system of law. And unless I'm wrong, Australia is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In section 14 of the ICCPR it states:

 

Has anyone else come across the customs charge from USA eBay?

They claim to be collecting fees , duty and import tax's etc on behalf of your country????

You pay but do they then send the money to Australia when most of these items don't get charged any duty etc.

How many $M's are they ripping off in the name of doing thr right thing.

eBay needs to be taken down a notch or 2.
Hey I use them but they are getting out of control.

My 2 cents

 

Unless we can prove otherwise??

If someone has a large amount of silver and the ATO questions them how they got it, if they say the truth and say they slowly bought it all over the years with spare cash, how can the ATO deem it drug/stolen/untaxed money? They would have to prove it. If they can't, then how can they deem it drug/stolen/untaxed money?

 

Not disagreeing with you willrocks, but what if you need your stack and stash to pay for your defence, and they have been confiscated until you can prove legal ownership?

 

Check this out..!!!!!!!

basic-fraud.com

This will open your eyes and make you question what is correct.

 

but why count postage as income?
so if a vendor selling a good at 1.99 and ask 2 dollar for postage, so he or she will ends up pay the tax on 3.99 dollars instead of on 1.99