IRS Proposal Could Impact Millions of Internet Users

[babylonsister]

IRS Proposal Could Impact Millions of Internet Users

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=35046

The U.S. Treasury Department -- in an effort to track down unreported small business income -- is seeking legislation requiring brokers of personal property, such as auction houses and consignment stores, to collect personal data on their customers and share it with the Internal Revenue Service. It appears that the real targets of the proposal are Internet-based businesses, including eBay and Amazon. It seems the IRS believes Internet companies should be enlisted in tax collection due to the apparent ease of collecting and transmitting information over the Internet.

The IRS proposal is disturbing on many levels -- not least in that it calls for the collection, storage and transmission of large amounts of sensitive personal information at a time when Internet users are increasingly concerned about identity theft; and when public- and private-sector data breaches have become routine. It would also potentially burden many smaller businesses that lack the technology or security infrastructure to safely collect sensitive personal information.

The IRS proposal calls for "brokers" of transactions involving tangible personal property to file income statements about all sellers who conduct 100 or more separate transactions. The IRS form required under the proposal would include the name, address and Social Security number (SSN) or Taxpayer ID Number (TIN) of each seller. In order to comply, brokers would likely need to keep track of ID numbers and other information on all sellers, even those that do not meet the sales threshold (since they won't know until the end of the year who meets the threshold). For small sellers this will almost always be an SSN.

The proposal is in the President's budget and, while no lawmaker has yet come out in support of it, the measure could easily find its way into a larger legislative package.

The request is just the latest manifestation of a broader effort by the government to force businesses to retain large amounts of customer data. These "data retention" proposals would force the creation of massive, privately maintained databases of personally identifiable data that government investigators could tap at their leisure. What's particularly troubling about this trend is that it occurs against the backdrop of a concerted effort by the Administration to weaken the legal standards that protect ordinary Americans against undue government snooping.

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[datadiva]

1. Big Brother marches on! n/t

[OlderButWiser]

2. Isn't making sure...

...that everyone pay their fair share a good thing?

[mike_c]

3. yes, but I'd rather see them start collecting from corporations and the wealthy...

...before going after people trying to make a living running consignment shops or auctioning stuff on eBay.

[brer cat]

12. I agree regarding collecting corporate and wealthy taxes.

Plus this would be a nightmare to administer. I have a small shop selling antiques and books. I periodically sell items on ebay, and include the proceeds in taxable income.

My daughter and my nephew sell far more stuff on ebay than I do. They sell their children's outgrown items, household items they no longer need, etc. It is NOT a business; it's an internet "yard sale" and should not be taxable income. They would not be liable for taxes if they sold them in their front yard, and the same should apply on ebay as well. Also, everything they sell is for MUCH less than they paid for it originally, so what is "profit" or "income?"

On the other hand, FEMA doesn't seem to be doing much. Maybe they have time to administer this disaster-in-waiting. lol

[electron_blue]

13. Actually I don't think they are exempt from taxes if they sell it in their yard. It's just

that nobody bothers to keep track of that.

For the record, I sell things on Amazon and it's a piece of cake to keep track of all the sales - Amazon will do it for you. It's a bit more trouble to keep track of your own expenses, but not too bad for the average person just trying to sell the equivalent of a yard sale.

I agree that we have way too many important things that the govt should be worrying about.

[OlderButWiser]

15. I beleive

that the key factor is whether you're selling for a profit or not. If you buy a toaster from your neighbor's yard sale for a buck and sell it on Ebay for 2 bucks that's a profit. But if you sell a toaster that you bought at retail for 10 bucks and sell it for 2 bucks that is not a profit making venture.

[brer cat]

16. There is no "profit" or "income" from a yard sale

or ebay sale of used household items. They are sold at a loss. How could you tax a loss?

[Ignacio Upton]

4. I'm sick of this attempt to "tame" the internet

By the likes of the IRS, the RIAA, the NSA and those who oppose net neutrality. Keep the wild west internet that we know and love. This nature has allowed the web to flourish and help the broader economy.

[formercia]

5. I don't agree with their proposal, but

I pay my taxes on income earned on Internet sales that I make (not very many) and I think there are a lot of people making big money and not paying taxes on their income.

They would be better off going after Millionaires and Billionaires that cheat.

[treestar]

6. Hidden tax

The government is always trying to "enlist" people, for no pay, to do its work for it.

[Babsbrain]

7. Good luck

There will be a million ways to get around it.

[C_U_L8R]

8. triple taxation

so they tax my salary before I buy something
then they tax me when I actually buy it
now they want to tax me when I sell it??

phooey !

[williesgirl]

9. They won't stop til they know how many times you sneeze daily. recommended

[jmowreader]

10. Where are the Republicans on this?

I'm series.

If this was the federal government telling a local or state government to do something like...oh, I dunno, fix the place where raw sewage is entering the city water supply or put a new light pole up because the wires lying on the ground are electrocuting people...the Repukes would be screaming "Unfunded Mandate!" But when it's just a medium-size business having to collect scads of personal data on brazillions of its customers then providing it to the IRS on demand? Silence.

[Matariki]

11. 100 or more transactions? All sales potentially tax free?

[peacetalksforall]

14. This is first and foremost a tool to get more data for their database on

the citizens.

Priorities for taxes:
Corporations
Non-profit religious organizations when they break the rules for non-profit exemption.
Phoney write off loopholes for wealthy people.

Priorities for recording taxable items:
Nuclear technology and supplies.
Gun sales.
US Intelligence secrets.

Their idea of targeting auction houses is abysmal - the costs to them (subsequently us) would be astronomical to keep the data safe from theft while stored and in transit - and doesn't IRS want all records kept for 7 or 10 years? How risky is that - to have your ss data on file with a small consignment store who may only be in business for another year and one that might dump your data in the trash. It is unbelievable bureaucratic. They are only thinking ebay and amazon? Amazing.

The IRS should lay out the entire plan to do this and then propose this.
The IRS should lay out all costs for auction houses to do this.

Where do they stop? Do they include small consignment companies like Ruby Lane - then how far down do they go from that sixe of a company? What's a fair cut-off point. What about a local business that takes your items and sells on e-bay for you - are they targeted even if they only make a nominal profit?

So what could this legislaton look like?

When you take in the monstrosity of this, the risks, the costs - the only conclusion you can come to is that it is John Poindexter's idea on how to populate their spy databases with data on us.

So when are they going to do something about crimes against the IRS - from corporations. Will the same Congresspeople and Senators who voted for the bankruptcy bill vote for this one? Go after the loopholes for the rich. Make sure those people golfing at Gleneagle's are on legitimate business trips.

No, they want us and our shoe size , cuz they really don't care about revenue or there would be fairness..