eBay and the IRS
Auction websites like eBay will be required to provide a report of customer revenue. The report will be required for all sellers that generate more than $5,000 in gross sales. This new 2008 proposal by the president is supported by a study showing 700,000 Americans earn income from auction sites.
Personal Information
A major con against this proposal comes from both business and customers. Information such as social security numbers and addresses will be collected by the businesses for reporting to the IRS. Because the business would have no way of knowing up front what the sales will be like it must collect data at the beginning of the year. The business must incur the expense of managing the data while the customer worries that their personal information could be exposed in a security breach.
IRS Proposal Could Impact Millions of Internet Users
Further information directly from the IRS on online auctions.
