A couple of things on PayPal:
1. Another way to distinguish a phish is that a truly secure site like
PayPal displays a URL beginning with https in your browser; the "s" is
for secure. If it is not there, you can be sure it's a fake; if it is
there, well, I still wonder if some clever crook has gotten around
that, too. Let me repeat the advice to NOT click through on suspect
e-mails; type or paste in the known URL to go where you want to go or
use a known good bookmark.
2. Mr. Osburn said, "But the fact remains that I'm *NOT* a
business...and the expectation (demand?) that a private party should
act like one and take credit cards seems presumptuous, to say the
least."
Actually, if you are buying and selling, you ARE a business and you DO
need to act like one, just like flea market sellers should. I'm a tax
professional and I assure you the IRS considers you a business on that
basis alone. Once they find you, if you are making a profit they will
want not only income tax, but self-employment taxes--another 7.65% for
Social Security and Medicare. If your state is one of the 41 with an
income tax, the IRS will notify them and they will demand their cut as
well.
Although I'm sure most eBay and similar sellers don't report their
income, budget shortfalls and the rising noise from "regular" retailers
is pushing the IRS and state tax authorities to go after what they are
missing in taxable income.
There's more--I attended a tax seminar last week at which the Director
of our state's sales tax division detailed the plans of a growing
consortium of states to simplify and standardize their sales taxes so
they could make an effective push to collect them on ALL Internet
retail transactions. They will start with regular businesses that are
now only required to collect and remit sales tax if they have a
physical presence in the state where the buyer lives; this group of
states intends to change that. There is a lot of money involved, and
once the system is in place, I do expect them to extend it to the
billions of dollars exchanged on eBay and similar services. Don't be
surprised.
Steve in Raleigh
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