eBay Says Let’s Make a Deal to California’s Internet Sales Tax Legislation – Part Two

As I said before eBay doesn’t care much for Amazon.com but business is business.

Unsurprisingly, eBay has not been enamored with such efforts which would hit eBay sellers, and has been seeking to work into legislation a threshold designed to ensure that at least some of its out-of-state sellers will not be subject to California sales/use tax collection and remittance obligations where they sell to customers in the Golden State (California-based sellers who sell to Californians are already on the hook).

A possible threshold of $10,000 a year or less in sales to Californians has been reported, but sources say that eBay and/or some of its sellers want that limit raised higher– potentially up to $2 million per year.

EBay has its California sellers engaged in a grassroots lobbying effort aimed at forcing amendments to the legislation, which would  defang it.  No doubt eBay sellers located outside of California, who are currently not obliged to collect and remit sales tax on purchases made by Californians, are ecstatic about this. California-based sellers would not benefit from building in a sales threshold, though, especially a high one that could tilt the eBay marketplace distinctly to the advantage of out-of-state sellers. However, their legislators are being urged to make amendments that, if put through, could seriously reduce the already rather pitiful revenues that backers of the legislation claim they would obtain by ramming it through.

The very best case scenario, according to a Board of Equalization staff analysis produced earlier this year, was that this “revenue
enhancement” measure would bring in a measly $200-or-so million maximum in 2012-13.

Let’s see as we repeat – no real, substantive tax revenue for California, a loss of California jobs and a costly litigation. The Skinner Bill (AB 153) et. al is a loser all around.

But, it WILL proceed because the POLS will milk those who have a stake in the legislation for campaign contributions.

Eventually, this will die a quiet, but expensive death.