The taxman commeth for Ebay

I've been using Ebay pretty much since it started. I buy a lot of stuff on there that I need, but I also do a lot of buying and selling of entertainment stuff

 

For example, I buy a lot of  VHS tapes and computer games for various consoles. After I'm done with them and not going to watch / play them again, I re-sell them on Ebay

 

I've always worked under the assumtion that if you're just offloading unwanted items, you don't need to pay tax. Correct or incorrect, and I think it's correct, that's why when I've made the occasional profit, I've not bothered telling HMRC

 

(That and other reasons, obviously)

 

Well now they want my national Insurance number

 

Now to be honest, I don't think HMRC are going to bother themselves with finding out how much people like me sell on Ebay, and trying to take a few pence tax here and there. It would likely cost them more than they gain

 

However, our new Government are financially illiterate enough that they might even try it

 

It's not about the tax though. I never make a profit on Ebay. If I buy a game for a fiver and sell it for a fiver in six months time, I've actually lost a couple of quid in the postage I paid to get it

 

The problems would arise if I have to prove to HMRC that I'm not making a profit. If it's not worth their while to find out who owes them a couple of pence here and there, it may be worth their while to make us prove to them that we don't owe a couple of pence here and there

 

There's a link in the email imaged above: If you're unclear about whether you need to report income

 

 

 

I don't know enough about tax to be sure, but I think you still need to report sales if you're a business, even if you're not making a profit. If that applies to folk selling tat on Ebay, I'd have to start keeping records of everything I buy and sell to prove I'm not fleecing HM Government

 

I tell you, filling in a tax return would not be worth it just to pass some used media on to the next person who wants to enjoy it

 

In the unlikely event that I do have to start fannying about with tax returns, our local Help the Aged may see an upturn in donations of games and films I've bought on Ebay

 

I say unlikely. Who knows what Labour are capable of...