eBay Sellers Push the Interests of Sellers with Revenues of $5-$21 million in DC

[mandy]

from eBay's newsletter The Chatter

You might ask, “Why do legislators need to meet with eBay sellers?” A year ago I would have asked the same question, until I stumbled across the Government Relations team's booth at eBay Live! 2004 in New Orleans. It was there that I learned about how legislative moves at both the federal and state levels can affect eBay sellers and other small and medium business owners. For instance, the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) can potentially result in huge additional burdens on small and medium businesses, both on and off eBay. At the state level, issues like auctioneering regulations can also damage your eBay business.

the important part- the writer is saying proposed US Internet tax regulations under which businesses with less than $5 million in sales will be exempt from paying the tax are unfair to "small businesses" which have annual sales of $5-$21 million (the writer's definition of a prosperous ebay seller).  The author would like to see the exemption raised to $21 million since the US Federal government defines a "small business" as one with less than $21 million in sales.  :

In all fairness, the SSTP is considering a Small Business Exception for Internet businesses that have gross sales less than $5 million per year. This might seem like a huge number to many occasional eBay sellers, but consider this. The current federal designation of a small business is one that generates less than $21 million dollars per year in gross sales. This makes the proposed Small Business Exception for Internet businesses in the SSTP (businesses with sales less than $5 million) look unfair in comparison. In order for many prosperous eBay sellers to fully achieve the potentials of their growing eBay businesses, the SSTP would need a more robust Small Business Exemption.

the rest of this trash 

http://pages.ebay.com/community/chatter/...ature.html

[xppman]

If the US Federal government defines a "small business"
as one with less than $21 million in sales.
Than something is VERY skewed at the Federal level insofar as the
criteria used to define a "small business".

In my mind annual sales of $5-$21 million is not SMALL.


I can say I have annual gross sales of less than $5 million per year.
WAY LESS.
So I guess I wont be collecting taxes for the government any time soon.

You know it is the burdens placed with “over regulation” by government that makes
many of us  "small businesses" stay small.

And it is obviously why so many "NOT so small businesses"
pack up and move offshore. 

Mandy “the rest of this trash” is an understatement when quoting anything
coming from ebays PR team. You know that.

[iron_chick]

Everyone here with gross sales between $5 and $21 million a year, please stand up.

[bargainbloodhound]

[quote author=iron_chick link=topic=1099.msg4233#msg4233 date=1131041716]
Everyone here with gross sales between $5 and $21 million a year, please stand up.
[/quote]

I wish I did.  The writer of that article doesn't even have sales in that range.  On his web site he lists his monthly sales as $22,000.  Many of the people who use posting IDs on eBay boards claim to have sales in that range though. 

[stardust]

[quote author=iron_chick link=topic=1099.msg4233#msg4233 date=1131041716]
Everyone here with gross sales between $5 and $21 million a year, please stand up.
[/quote]
Sorry, but I can't oblige right now.  It's cloudy.  My knees are creaking and hurt too much today.  Sure sign of rain. 

[iron_chick]

So just out of curiousity . . . how many eBay sellers have those sorts of sales?    Is that figure out there anywhere? 

I mean . . . I guess I'm having trouble seeing this as a real *eBay* issue.

Tell me about the postal increase.  That's real.  Or how the IRS is allowing more pennies per mile this last quarter.  That's real. 

But eBay sellers with revenues between $5 and $21 million . . . I just can't believe there are that freakin' many . . . you know . . . enough to justify eBay using the money the rest of us give them every day to send folks to DC to lobby about this.

[stardust]

The problem with what *appears to be stupid* things like this is, you give the guvverment one inch, and they'll consider that justification to take the whole mile.  I'm all for attempting to stop 'em before they get the one inch. 

Go EBAY !! 

[iron_chick]

[quote author=stardust link=topic=1099.msg4246#msg4246 date=1131060444]
The problem with what *appears to be stupid* things like this is, you give the guvverment one inch, and they'll consider that justification to take the whole mile.  I'm all for attempting to stop 'em before they get the one inch. 

Go EBAY !! 

[/quote]

LOL!  I am MANY miles away from $5 million dollars in sales. 

[xppman]

I had 5M once. But it was in the game MONOPOILY.