Well, isn’t this good news from PayPal and our Big Brother government found in the current ream of policy updates:
Taxes. The following acknowledgement [sic] has been added to Section 4.7 (Taxes): You acknowledge that in starting in 2011, PayPal will report to the Internal Revenue Service the total amount of the payments you receive each calendar year into all the Accounts you own if you(i) receive more than $20,000, and (ii) receive more than 200 payments, in that calendar year.
PayPal may not be able to spell “acknowledgment,” but it sure can spell IRS.
Is it fair?
You might say something like, “It’s about time those Ebay people pay their fair share!”I understand that point of view because I think everyone should pay their share of taxes. The problem is that more than 40% of Americans do not pay taxes. In fact, many of those who pay no taxes at all get a check from the the 60% that do pay taxes.
I suppose what I’m saying is that if you want to even things up, make it fair across the board. Millions pay zero taxes. Many of the ultra wealthy pay very little in taxes because most taxes don’t even apply to the kind of income most rich people earn.
So, until the system becomes fair, I have to route for the folks on Ebay who earn some income and just don’t bother to report it.
PayPal payments are not 100% income
Let’s get another thing clear: the PayPal – Big Brother alliance will not stop with this simple reporting. This is because not all PayPal payments are income. After all, if you sold a hard drive for $100, you have the expense of packing material, shipping, and possibly transportation to the post office. Additionally, you pay Ebay fees for the privilege of use of the site and then PayPal takes a cut. If the hard drive cost $80 you may not even make any money on the deal, but you still get reported for receiving a payment of $100. Guess who gets to spend their time and money documenting all this crap? You do, of course.
Tyranny: The darkside of technology
This is a good example of why we have all been foolish to embrace the Information Age. Sure we get a lot of work done with out computers, we have nice trips using GPS, and we have a great time socializing on Facebook. The problem is that the government knows where we are at all times now. Through Google and other sites it knows everything about us, and with most money now in electronic form, it can decide whether it wants your money or not. In fact, it can flip a switch and decide that you aren’t allowed to have access to your money.
This whole Internet thing is going to end up biting humanity in the rear end big time because those with power and influence are the ones that will dominate you and me. I’m not looking forward to it either.
