eBay Canada to Report Power Sellers to Tax Authorities

Over its objections, eBay to open books to CRA

Canadians who earn more than a $1,000 a month on eBay will have their data reported to the Canadian Revenue Agency, that country's equivalent of America's IRS. This comes despite eBay's strenuous objection to a recent ruling by the Federal Court of appeal, reports CBC News today.

Power sellers, as defined by this specific story, are those earning gross sales figures of more than a grand a month for three consecutive months. They will be subject to increased scrutiny by the CRA.

In 2006, Revenue Canada started looking into whether power sellers had reported all their eBay earnings on their 2004 and 2005 income taxes.

It's estimated about 32,000 Canadians make all or part of their income selling on eBay.

Meantime, the CBC story reports that many more Canadians are shopping online, with 2007 sales rising to $12.8 billion, according to Statistics Canada.

Like their Canadian counterparts, U.S. tax authorities at the state, local and federal level, are looking to close what has been called a reporting gap - the difference between what is earned via online enterprise and what is reported to tax agences. We'll keep it between us, but we've got to ask: Do you report all of your online earnings to the tax authorities that apply to you? We'd love to hear your thoughts.