PayPal will require SS# & report receipts to IRS

[taxgenius]

Originally Posted by M. Charles

I am glad that there is at least one transaction -- the exchange of cash on the street -- where this f*ing government (at least at the moment) can't stick its nose. Billions of taxes are lost every year because large corporations hire fancy lawyers to exploit loopholes for them, among other tricks, and the IRS focuses its time on the small potatoes that is the private individual hawking secondhand items with paypal? Unlike the poster above, I would be *delighted* if human ingenuity is exercised to find a way around this, not because it would make any difference for me, but because it really pisses me off in principle. Correct me if I"m wrong, but the government doesn't tax the 20K one could make simply by opening one's garage door and having a tag sale.

Wrong.

 

[M. Charles]

Originally Posted by taxgenius69

Wrong.
How exactly does the government keep track of how much $$ a person makes at a garage sale? It may be a pro forma requirement but is so unenforceable as to be practically non-existant and laughable.

 

[SamSpade]

I'm already kind of dissapointed by the dependence on PayPal here.

I would think that the purist crowd would stick to cash only, traveler's cheques, money orders, and wire transfers

.

 

[SamSpade]

Originally Posted by M. Charles

How exactly does the government keep track of how much $$ a person makes at a garage sale? It may be a pro forma requirement but is so unenforceable as to be practically non-existant and laughable.

This is true for private sellers, but I would imagine this is more targeted to businesses. Let's face it, for a small business, paypal is almost as good as a cash only transaction.

 

[rebel222]

Originally Posted by M. Charles

How exactly does the government keep track of how much $$ a person makes at a garage sale? It may be a pro forma requirement but is so unenforceable as to be practically non-existant and laughable.

They'll track the $20K you deposit in your bank account.

 

[A Guy from Shanghai]

Originally Posted by rebel222

They'll track the $20K you deposit in your bank account.

What if you deposit $20k into 5 different banks?

 

[M. Charles]

Originally Posted by rebel222

They'll track the $20K you deposit in your bank account.
It's a crime to deposit $$ into a bank account? How could they ever prove that it was earned income? Perhaps you had it stored away under the mattress, or in a safety deposit box. And, like another poster asked, what if you spread it across multiple accounts at different times? My larger point is that I despise the intrusion into my personal affairs that all this represents-- unless there is enough evidence in hand to go snooping around in someone's bank account records, it shouldn't be done, even by government .

 

[rebel222]

Originally Posted by M. Charles

It's a crime to deposit $$ into a bank account? How could they ever prove that it was earned income? Perhaps you had it stored away under the mattress, or in a safety deposit box. And, like another poster asked, what if you spread it across multiple accounts at different times? My larger point is that I despise the intrusion into my personal affairs that all this represents-- unless there is enough evidence in hand to go snooping around in someone's bank account records, it shouldn't be done, even by government .
Any deposit over $10K is reported. They don't snoop. The banks send it in. I am not expressing my personal opinions. I'm just telling you how it is.

 

[M. Charles]

Originally Posted by rebel222

Any deposit over $10K is reported. They don't snoop. The banks send it in. I am not expressing my personal opinions. I'm just telling you how it is.
Yes, I'm aware of the 10K rule, and as I recall it applies to the period of 1 month. So the answer to the hypothetical I mentioned is simply to deposit $9,999 twice over the course of two months and tell the government to go F**k off, right? I got into this discussion recently over inheritance tax. Perhaps one way around it is simply to purchase something very expensive (such as a 200K stamp or some such) and transfer it to your children? Maybe this would work with gold, too? I'm far from croaking but I love trying to use my brain cells to think of ways around these kind of absurd government infringements.

 

[Master Squirrel]

Originally Posted by M. Charles

Yes, I'm aware of the 10K rule, and as I recall it applies to the period of 1 month. So the answer to the hypothetical I mentioned is simply to deposit $9,999 twice over the course of two months and tell the government to go F**k off, right?

Watch it... they monitor those too to see if you are trying to skirt the reporting law.

 

[M. Charles]

BTW, would the answer to most of these problems be simply to go to Switzerland like McQueen with a suitcase of cash and opened a numbered account, or is that now traceable too?

 

[taxgenius]

Originally Posted by M. Charles

Yes, I'm aware of the 10K rule, and as I recall it applies to the period of 1 month. So the answer to the hypothetical I mentioned is simply to deposit $9,999 twice over the course of two months and tell the government to go F**k off, right?

Banks are requried to report deposits of $10k or more but may (and often do) report amounts lower than the requried threshold, particlualry deposits of $9,999. In addition, it is worth noting that "structuring" payments so that they do not reach the $10k threshold is by itself against the law and can land you in jail - even if the cash arose from perfectly legal business. This has happened already.

 

[taxgenius]

Originally Posted by M. Charles

BTW, would the answer to most of these problems be simply to go to Switzerland like McQueen with a suitcase of cash and opened a numbered account, or is that now traceable too?

Have you heard of UBS?

 

[Aaron01]

Originally Posted by taxgenius69

Have you heard of UBS?

Maybe he doesn't read the news...

 

[M. Charles]

Originally Posted by Master Squirrel

Watch it... they monitor those too to see if you are trying to skirt the reporting law.

Does it matter if it's divided into multiple accounts?

It all seems ridiculous to me. On principle, why should I not be able to deposit however much money I want into whatever account I want? Let it be taxed already if it is earned income from an employer but why the hell should the government get involved if a friend wants to give me 15K just for the hell of it or vice versa? I've never thought of myself as having libertarian tendencies at all but my education in these matters is quite dispiriting, particularly with regard to the degree of government infringement into what I consider to be private affairs.