Ebay and Canadian Sales Tax

[plaid preacher]

Greetings folks, I'm trying to sort out a message I received earlier today, which indicated that beginning July 1st Ebay will begin collecting HST on orders. Has anyone else received this? The e-mail in question went to the e-mail address associated with my account, but does not appear in my e-mails from E-bay on the site. Does this apply to only orders from Canadian sellers, or does it include off-shore sellers also?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks.

Robert

[Ninehostages]

Usually, the HST is collected at the Post Office when you pick up your package from them. I'd be skeptical of an overseas supplier that is charging you sales tax. It's Revenue Canada that collects it and you remit it, not a foreign vendor.

It sounds like ascam, to me.

[plaid preacher]

Usually, the HST is collected at the Post Office when you pick up your package from them. I'd be skeptical of an overseas supplier that is charging you sales tax. It's Revenue Canada that collects it and you remit it, not a foreign vendor.

It sounds like ascam, to me.

No - the notification said that due to changes in the law, Ebay was now responsible for collection of the HST. Here is the first para of the e-mail:

"Due to legislative changes in Canada’s tax laws, eBay will be required to charge and collect Canadian GST/HST, QST, and PST on applicable sales to Canada-based buyers, effective July 1, 2022. Please note that these changes will affect most e-commerce companies that operate in Canada."

[Steve Ashton]

According to EBay's user agreement, it is not the buyer that pays any applicable taxes but the seller.

"5. Fees and TaxesWe charge sellers for the use of our Services. In some cases, where a buyer receives supplemental Services such as authentication or storage Services for items in certain categories, we may also charge the buyer for such supplemental Service.
The fees we charge sellers for using our Services to sell goods and services are listed on our Selling Fees page. Except if you reside in Ontario or Quebec, we may change our selling fees from time to time by posting the changes on the eBay site 30 days in advance, but with no advance notice required for temporary promotions or any changes that result in the reduction of fees.
Sellers are liable for fees arising out of all sales made using some or all of our Services, even if sales terms are finalized or payment is made outside of eBay. In particular, if you offer or reference your contact information or ask a buyer for their contact information in the context of buying or selling outside of eBay, you may be liable to pay a final value fee applicable to that item, even if the item doesn't sell, given your usage of our Services for the introduction to a buyer.
Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in Canadian Dollars. Sellers must have a payment method on file when using our selling Services and pay all fees and applicable taxes associated with the use of our Services by the payment due date. If your payment method fails or your account is past due, we may place restrictions on your account, or the eBay Payments Entities (as defined below) may collect amounts owed in the manner described in the Payments Terms of Use. In addition, you will be subject to late fees. eBay, or the collection agencies we retain, may also report information about your account to credit bureaus, and as a result, late payments, missed payments, or other defaults on your account may be reflected in your credit report. If you wish to dispute the information eBay reported to a credit bureau (i.e., Experian, Equifax or TransUnion) please contact us at eBay Inc., C/O Global Collections, 7700 West Parmer Lane, Building D, Austin, TX 78729. If you wish to dispute the information a collection agency reported to a credit bureau regarding your eBay account, you must contact the collection agency directly.
Selling fees don't purchase exclusive rights to item exposure on our Services. We may display third-party advertisements (including links and references thereto) or other content in any part of our Services, including listings, in our sole discretion and without consent from, or payment, fee reduction, or other credit to, sellers.
In any jurisdiction where eBay has an obligation to collect sales taxes on sales you make using eBay Services, we may collect such sales taxes from you via the payment method on file under the terms of the Billing Agreement or via any other means available to us. Commencing on July 1, 2022, eBay will collect and remit applicable goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax ("GST/HST"), Quebec sales tax ("QST") and provincial sales taxes in British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan on sales of taxable goods, as required under federal and provincial tax legislation. If you are registered for GST/HST or QST purposes, by continuing to use the eBay Services you are jointly electing with eBay Canada Limited under subsection 177(1.1) of the Excise Tax Act (Canada) and section 40.0.1 of an Act respecting the Quebec sales tax for eBay Canada Limited to account for the GST/HST and QST as a billing agent for on your behalf, for all of the supplies made by you through the eBay marketplace, effective July 1, 2022. Both parties to the election are jointly and severally or solidarily liable for certain GST/HST and QST obligations, as explained under "Joint Liability" on page 4 of the Canada Revenue Agency's Form GST506. eBay Canada Limited is registered for GST/HST and QST purposes, with registration numbers:

• GST/HST: 874883325 RT0001
• QST: 874883325RT0001

Please contact us at CanadaGST/PST@ebay.com for your copy of our jointly executed election forms, which you should retain with your tax files."

[Ninehostages]

No - the notification said that due to changes in the law, Ebay was now responsible for collection of the HST. Here is the first para of the e-mail:

"Due to legislative changes in Canada’s tax laws, eBay will be required to charge and collect Canadian GST/HST, QST, and PST on applicable sales to Canada-based buyers, effective July 1, 2022. Please note that these changes will affect most e-commerce companies that operate in Canada."

Be careful.

[kilted2000]

Have you contacted eBay directly?

[Darrin1200]

This is probably a real message.
I recently received the same thing from Etsy, for my store on their site. This is similar to what they did in the States, with State Tax. The sales platform is responsible for collecting the sales tax, for the state the buyer is located in, and remitting it to the proper agency. Even as a Canadian, if I sell to someone, through Etsy, in say Pennsylvania, PA tax will be collected from the buyer at the time of the sale.

Apparently this will be happening now in Canada as well. They will be collecting and remitting both GST and HST on all Canadian sales, then remitting it to the appropriate agency. If you already collect and remit the tax, you have to tell them, so that the customer is not charged twice.
My concern was, because I am considered a small supplier and am not required to report GST/HST, was that this would force me to begin tax reporting.
However after talking to CRA and Etsy, if I understand correctly, taxes cannot be remitted in “my name” with out my tax account. And I currently do not have an active tax account. Apparently, they will be collecting the tax from my sales and remitting it under their tax account to the provincial and federal tax offices.

It’s very confusing. But it is for the governing bodies to capture a lot of lost sales tax.

If you really want complex, try selling to someone in Germany now. Arrrghhh

Hope this helps a bit.

Darrin