Australian Gov't Asks eBay To Name Big Sellers

beaverdownunder writes "In an effort to combat fraudulent claims lodged within its Centrelink welfare-payment agency, the Australian Government has asked auction-site eBay to name all Aussies who sold more than $20,000 worth of goods in the last year. Should someone be found to have been doing such a high-volume of business on eBay while claiming Centrelink benefits but not declaring that income, they could potentially face prosecution. However, the president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, Terry O'Gorman, says this action is a gross invasion of privacy. 'What we say should happen is that if police have probable cause for investigating someone, they go to a magistrate, they get a warrant and they access that person's eBay records that way,' he said."

Comments

Get a warrant

[Novogrudok]

My opinion is that anybody who has a turnover of $20K a year on eBay should mention this on their tax returns. If they did not make a profit, chances are they do not have to pay any additional tax (depending on local laws).

However, "pro-active reporting" or policing should not be done by eBay. If the Revenue Office or the police have suspicions about a particular person -- they should get a warrant to get data from eBay, just like Terry O'Gorman says.