[ExI] Abandon all taxes

[BillK]

On 11/10/07, spike wrote:
> This makes me wonder about the impact of the twin developments of eBay and
> PayPal.  In Europe, California and other high income tax states one could
> run a tax-free business that could easily crush one's competitors.  The
> governments that rely heavily upon income tax must be watching this with
> great concern.
>
> If governments ever manage to tax eBay and PayPal, I can imagine the
> evolution of a new business in which people do not actually convert
> purchases into eCash, but rather trade goods directly.  One can currently
> have an eBay store for instance, filled with stuff that someone somewhere on
> this planet might want.  In my case, I have a collection of parts for
> antique motorcycles that I no longer own, and I own four antique motorcycles
> for which parts are scarce and precious.  I could imagine an eBay-like site
> in which people have their stores pages and wish list pages, that operate on
> buyer/seller reputations as does eBay.  One could browse their for-sale
> pages and their wish lists, see if we can work out trades that never involve
> actual cash, e or otherwise, so they are not taxable even in theory.
>


No chance in the UK.
The Tax man is already taxing eBay dealers.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/09/ebay_uk_traders_tax_guidance/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/27/ebay_vat_robot/

A new guide has been released which tells occasional online sellers if
they should be paying income tax on their profits. The guide is
designed to differentiate between online traders and people who "are
just clearing low value items from the attic".
--------

As usual with taxable doings, you have to keep your head down below the parapet.
Occasional successes are OK, too much success and the beady eye of the
IRS will be drawn to you.


BillK