eBay.com is to start collecting sales tax for sellers in Minnesota

The US State of Minnesota is the latest on the list of locales in the USA that eBay will be helping sellers deal with by collecting and remitting Sales Tax on their behalf. Previously, eBay has said that they will be dealing with sales tax on behalf of sellers in Washington states, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. We have written about that here already.

As eBay says in an announcement made this week, that you can find here:

We’re committed to supporting any sellers who have been affected by the June 2018 Supreme Court decision, which changed the rules around how Internet Sales Tax is administered.

What the ruling means for you: Regardless of your physical location, if you sell to buyers in certain states, those states may require you to collect applicable taxes on transactions.

Some states have extended the tax collection obligation to marketplaces. We believe this ruling is unfair to small businesses and will continue to find the best way to support and advocate for our sellers. Based on these new laws, we will calculate, collect, and remit sales tax for applicable orders shipped to customers in the following states:

• Washington—starting January 1, 2019
• Minnesota—starting January 1, 2019
• Pennsylvania— starting July 1, 2019
• Oklahoma—starting July 1, 2019

– eBay Announcement

Online sales taxes seem to be the new trend when it comes to governments trying to get to grips with the ever burgeoning world of ecommerce. In particular, authorities seem to seek to take more tax from online sales and use those funds to assist and bolster bricks and mortar organisations.

But the trend in the USA is more complex. The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the online sales tax but has also indicated that Congress is better placed to legislate in the longer term and urges action. What that will look like is unknown, but eBay has (creditably) been vociferous in its opposition.