Question for collectors in Illinois

Probably not enough of them.

Illinois is like the problem child of the Midwest.

 

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Yeah, we have some issues here in Illinois but no state is perfect either. And I feel like if you pay less in one tax you must be paying more somewhere else. All those public services still need to be paid for somehow.

 

Some states are efficient with their resources and revenues. The same cannot be said about Illinois.

And it’s true that some states have higher rates for certain taxes to offset other lower rates (I.e. higher property taxes to offset low sales tax or income tax). However, Illinois tends to be near the top for most taxes, is pretty much at the top for overall tax burden, and is pretty much at the bottom for overall fiscal health.

 

The courts have handed eBay a loaded gun on the issue. I had an auction realize considerably less than expected. Is it impact of the sales tax issue. Don’t know.

 

I just got off of the phone with Ebay. They are aware of the "hiccup" in their system, and will refund taxes wrongly collected.

 

It might be. I’ve pretty much stopped bidding on eBay since Jan 1 based on the extra costs.

 

I spoke to them too and it was mixed results. They said they would escalate the issue to the sales tax department. However, they couldn’t tell me how long it would take and when/how I can get a refund for the tax paid.

 

she said it should be within 6 hrs.

 

I'm still wondering whether eBay does this as a simple sale-category check (and I can't imagine how else they would do it).

If that's the case, then coins (not taxable in NC) would incur sales tax if they were listed in, say "Jewelry" or "Collectibles". Conversely, albums or other supplies (which are still taxable in NC) would not be taxed.

Bottom line: State sales tax rules are a morass of ambiguity and inconsistency, and Mayfair guarantees that every eBay buyer and seller has to wade through it, in its entirety.

 

Hopefully that is the case. Did they tell you ebay would automatically send a refund?

The rep I talked to made it sound like it would be a while. They said it’s still new and they need time to figure things out.

I guess we’ll see if anything happens today.

 

The easiest way to apply the sales tax does seem to be by category. You are correct that can run into issues based on people listing items in the wrong categories (but that has been the case for years).

For Illinois, it should be simple: the coins and paper money category should not display any tax while pretty much every other category should add tax.

 

I have dual citizenship, Oregon & Hawaii. If taxes are required, I ship to Oregon where there is no tax. But if not, I ship to Hawaii where I sit on the beach all day and wonder why I have no $$$ left.

 

Illinois is just like New Hampshire. NH taxes nothing and IL taxes everything. Oh wait.

There is a reason that IL has the most residents leaving for other states.

 

Me and several others from Utah called them about this in October. Ebay doesn't care. I will just give the receipts from ebay for the sales taxes I paid that shouldn't have been collected, then file for a refund from the state tax commission.

 

That's not what the ebay people that can barely speak English tell me. They just tell me that there's nothing they can do - the states are collecting taxes on internet sales.
They will tell you what you want to hear so that you'll get off the phone.

 

That is what I expect, but for now I'm hoping they prove me wrong.

In Illinois, there isn't even much hope for a refund from the state. I've only found forms for businesses (and even those only give a credit for future payments).

Here's a fun (sad) story about someone not being able to get their money back (although it was a business, not an individual and not an eBay case).
https://www.sj-r.com/article/20150226/NEWS/150229528

 

@riff any word from eBay about your refund?

 

That is a sad story. Illinois is bankrupt and crooked, which is why people are fleeing the state. Wait until the retired police and firemen don't get their pensions and see what happens.

 

Apparently this is problematic. The statement below is from an article published in Coin World on 12/27/2019

Adam Biagi – Owner, Pacifica Trading Company

“The most significant challenge is probably the implementation of the new sales tax rules after the Supreme Court decision on South Dakota versus Wayfair.

“As an online seller, it’s created a whole new level of bureaucratic hoops that we have to jump through to do just the basic stuff that we were normally used to. Poor guidelines and implementation have exacerbated this issue. With what I sell, I haven’t seen a terrible impact but there is a definite impact to be seen, most notably on numismatic, non-bullion-related material. It probably affects the US much more than it does the foreign market, simply due to higher prices on US material in general.”

 

Nothing new from eBay.
@TheFinn was right that they will say things just to make you get off the phone.
There is still a chance I’m wrong and this will be fixed, but I’m less hopeful every day.

On the bright side, I’ve greatly reduced my time on eBay and have only bought one item (and that was done so that I could use the eBay bucks I earned last quarter).