I havent bought on ebay in a few years but i never recalled having to pay sales tax On an order, i found a very nice note that i have been eyeing up and the asking Was $400, thought it was a little high so i negotiated with the seller for $375 He sent me the offer and i said what the %%%% !! for a $375 note i was being Charged $40 in tax. plus shipping of almost $10, that,s $50, there was no mention In the original offer of sales tax or on the add, if there was i wouldnt of accepted So i got ahold of him and told him to cancel the bid, in the mean time i did send My phone number so they we could go thru pay pal and for get the nonsense.
eBay adds the tax on without the seller's permission. They even do that on my sales, even though, as a remote seller in New Hampshire I am legally exempt from the withholding requirement.
The Supreme Court upheld a South Dakota law that required the collection of sales tax if either the seller or buyer resided in SD. Many states enacted similar laws on internet sales.
Rick, just this week when I bought a NEW boxed bobblehead for my daughter there was no tax. This was from a seller that has a store. BUT when I sold this week some used misc stuff there was tax added that the buyer (from IOWA) had to pay. I'm not a store nor a consistent seller, just usually selling misc. stuff from time to time. 1 thing in the last 60 days or more.
It is totally asinine now what eBay does. I recently bought a music CD from a seller in the UK and I was charged California sales tax! I realize it is not the seller's doing but it is utterly ridiculous. I'd have rather that tax gone to the UK government than for it to go to the CA government for pulling this shenanigans.
I also live in Calif. and before Ebay would tax me if the seller was also in Calif. but now they tax every purchase regardless of where the seller is located. Amazon has been adding sales tax for longer. I'm sure other states will do the same in the future.
The strange thing, is i live in Nevada and the seller lives in Missouri so not Sure how that works but ebay should list that taxes would be added.