‘Absolutely bonkers!’ Nigel Farage blasts ‘draconian’ tax as HMRC target eBay sellers
Nigel Farage has laid bare his frustration at an “intrusive” potential new tax that could see sellers on websites like eBay targeted.
It comes after it was revealed people making a “side hustle” from selling second-hand clothes online or homeowners renting out a spare room on AirBnB are among those who could be subject to a New Year tax clampdown.
From 1 January firms including eBay, Vinted and Depop are obliged to collect and share details of transactions with tax authorities.
Speaking on GB News, the former Brexit Party leader hit out at the “intrusive” new ruling, and said there is only one faction to blame.
“This is driving me potty”, he said.
“If you sell more than £1000 worth on one of these platforms over the course of a year, the company will have to inform the tax authorities.
“This just strikes me as being absolutely bonkers. Let’s say you’ve got a dress collection that you’ve paid quite a bit of money for, but you think ‘I’m getting a bit old for that, I’m going to sell it’, you might sell it for £1500.
“Who knows what you’e going to sell it for. You’ll then be reported to the tax authorities.
“We’ve been assured by leading accountants that this potential tax is only designed at those people that are designated as traders, those people that are regularly buying and selling things on eBay or any other platform.
“Frankly, once the tax authorities have been told that you’ve earned a couple of grand here, a couple of grand there, I wouldn’t trust them not to simply put this money on your bill.
“Why would we do something so ridiculously intrusive?”
In a tongue in cheek remark, Farage labelled the Conservatives the “great globalists”.
The GB News presenter went on to blame them for the move.
“They signed up to this agreement with 27 other countries through the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)”, he said.
“Despite it being Brexit Britain, we still have a Conservative Party and a government who are more than prepared to sign up to global agreements.
“It really isn’t good enough.”
HMRC said in a statement: “These new rules will support our work to help online sellers get their tax right first time.
“They will also help us detect any deliberate non-compliance, ensuring a level playing field for all taxpayers.”