Ebay Again - Now with EU Taxes!
MonsieurEvil
Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 4Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 4Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">A huge VAT of poop</div> (from The Register: <a href='http://www.theregister.com/content/67/31047.html' target='_blank'>http://www.theregister.com/content/67/31047.html</a> )
The Value Added Tax was a rather unwelcome surprise to me when I travelled in europe. For those Americans here, in the UK it was a 17.5% service charge on pretty much EVERYTHING you paid for. Roughly 3 times American sales-tax, for euro comprehension.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->eBay to charge VAT in Europe
By Tim Richardson
Posted: 05/06/2003 at 09:21 GMT
eBay is to start charging value added tax (VAT) in Europe from July 1 to comply with EU legislation on digital services.
eBay warned punters back in March that new EU legislation meant that it would have to start collecting VAT on its digital services from the summer.
These taxes apply to all seller fees paid to eBay - such as insertion fees and final value fees - by sellers who reside in the European Union.
Business sellers who have VAT registration numbers will not be charged VAT on eBay fees.
As eBay explains: "These taxes apply to all seller fees paid to eBay - including insertion fees, feature fees, final value fees and service subscription fees - by sellers who reside, have a permanent address, or are established in the European Union. Under the EU regulations, we will apply the VAT rate applicable in a seller’s country of residence. For example, sellers who are registered on eBay as residents of the United Kingdom will pay 17.5 per cent regardless of where in the EU they list items."
eBay is also using the tax hike to increase, at the same time, some of the fees it charges people for using its service.
In a statement the company said: "We will raise some fees, reduce others, while keeping some the same."
A spokeswoman said that it was "too early to say" if the increased charges will affect eBay's business in Europe. ®
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The Value Added Tax was a rather unwelcome surprise to me when I travelled in europe. For those Americans here, in the UK it was a 17.5% service charge on pretty much EVERYTHING you paid for. Roughly 3 times American sales-tax, for euro comprehension.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->eBay to charge VAT in Europe
By Tim Richardson
Posted: 05/06/2003 at 09:21 GMT
eBay is to start charging value added tax (VAT) in Europe from July 1 to comply with EU legislation on digital services.
eBay warned punters back in March that new EU legislation meant that it would have to start collecting VAT on its digital services from the summer.
These taxes apply to all seller fees paid to eBay - such as insertion fees and final value fees - by sellers who reside in the European Union.
Business sellers who have VAT registration numbers will not be charged VAT on eBay fees.
As eBay explains: "These taxes apply to all seller fees paid to eBay - including insertion fees, feature fees, final value fees and service subscription fees - by sellers who reside, have a permanent address, or are established in the European Union. Under the EU regulations, we will apply the VAT rate applicable in a seller’s country of residence. For example, sellers who are registered on eBay as residents of the United Kingdom will pay 17.5 per cent regardless of where in the EU they list items."
eBay is also using the tax hike to increase, at the same time, some of the fees it charges people for using its service.
In a statement the company said: "We will raise some fees, reduce others, while keeping some the same."
A spokeswoman said that it was "too early to say" if the increased charges will affect eBay's business in Europe. ®
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Comments
I may have to pack it in <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo-->
Actually it's good for everybody, because tax money is used for public services. And VAT is the fairest of all taxes, because every consumer has to pay it.
Gah. I feel better now. Fairness does not mean 'flat' or 'equal'. It means that is in accordance with relative merit. In some ways, flat taxes like sales taxes or VAT are <i>particularly</i> unfair, as people who make more money are taxed the same as people that make very little. So for a well-off guy a nice dinner costs $100 and he gets taxed $17.50 for it, but he can afford that 17.50 no sweat. A poor guy has much less to spend in total, so no nice dinners for him.
Jeez, Nemesis, listen to this weird commie crap coming out of my mouth? Have I gone soft??? <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Like the chancellor the other month who complained he shouldn't be paycut because "He couldn't maintain his lifestyle anymore" from £120,000 per year.
He earns per month nearly what I earn per year. And I'm supposed to be okay knowing part of my salary pays for him. And exactly what have they achieved? Zip.
Its because sales tax varies by where you go. Like the city I am in it has a 1/2 cent sales tax where as the state has 7 cent. But yeah it can be bad when your a little kid.
Hence Job's hatred of the US. They tricked him into thinking his lollilop was only $.78 (last year, no doubt)...
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Would you rather have your VAT be 17.5% and printed clearly on the label, or have it be 6% and have to do a small amount of estimation of the true cost before going ot the counter?
Hence Job's hatred of the US. They tricked him into thinking his lollilop was only $.78 (last year, no doubt)...
<!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Would you rather have your VAT be 17.5% and printed clearly on the label, or have it be 6% and have to do a small amount of estimation of the true cost before going ot the counter? <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
darnit, here I have to estimate the 6.5%(unless i say its a "farm" expense, then I don't have to, and everything, such as this computer, can be considered a "farm" expense, except the games, I can't think of a reason for them to be tax exempt).....
yes, for youwho are foreign to the US, sales taxes are set by the individual states, meaning some states sales taxes are more than others.
Also note that some states do not have sales taxes.
<a href='http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sales.html' target='_blank'>Sales Taxes by State</a>
Further note that some don't have income taxes either.
<a href='http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/ind_inc.html' target='_blank'>Income Taxes by State</a>
Oh, good luck with that whole 17% thing. If our state ever got that high there'd either be a mass exodus or a brick by brick disassembly of the capitol building
People in the UK pay a far higher amount of taxes. Things in the UK cost more than in the US. Wages on average are higher in the US. Although your health is virtually identical to ower own, and you pay over the top.
But it should be printed on the lable, maby Inc Tax and Exc Tax should both be on the lable.
And thanks for the interesting list, Spooge. That explains why Florida became the biggest retirement community, per capita. Stats are interesting...
(xiller - we do have the tax on the receipts, just not the pricing slips. It's a marketting gimmick companies use, and has nothing to do with American law, contrary to what Job thought, where everything is a conspiracy to steal his lollipop <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> ).
That's odd, when I was in the States sales tax was an unholy shock to me. In the UK, the price on the ticket is <i>what you pay</i>, whereas in the US I'd be thinking things were cheap, until I actually got to the counter to pay for them. You guys ought to at least include the tax in the ticket price.
edit: again, I pay the price for going for a nap before replying by seeing that many other people have said what I just did. Ho hum.
Death and taxes!
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<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Xiller
People in the US should never complain about high taxes.
People in the UK pay a far higher amount of taxes. Things in the UK cost more than in the US. Wages on average are higher in the US. Although your health is virtually identical to ower own, and you pay over the top.
But it should be printed on the lable, maby Inc Tax and Exc Tax should both be on the lable.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If this is the case, shouldn't be the cost of everything, even with the addition of taxes, be cheaper than in the UK? I understand that maybe it's not <b>as</b> cheap as what you originally thought, but still...
And we call them fries, or perhaps, 'french' fries. Only a handful of rednecks or stand-up comics call them freedom fries.
Only dorks call em freedom fries, I mean think about it its like a whole syllabel more. We are americans, we are lazy.