I saw this notice today! Creepy they may want to tax me selling old junk I laying around the house. That I likely bought with money they already taxed, that I likely paid sales tax on already too! Sad how greedy they are getting. WOW!
“We are writing today with an urgent message in regards to PayPal account(s) associated with your eBay account.
The IRS recently notified PayPal that the legal business name and/or Taxpayer Identification Number (also known as a TIN) on one or more PayPal account(s) associated with your eBay account does not match what the IRS has on record. If this discrepancy is not corrected, in order to comply with applicable regulations, PayPal will limit the affected PayPal account(s). If these PayPal account(s) are limited, you will not be able to receive payments to these PayPal account(s).”
They have very long arms: “Internal Revenue Code Section 6050W requires PayPal’s non-US subsidiaries to comply with the new law. As a result, non-US account holders may need to certify their non-US status and their address.”
This is NOT new. For several years the credit card processors have been required to report the total value of transaction for the year to the IRS if the total exeeded several thousand dollars. They have exactly the same issue. If your TIN doesn’t match the TIN information the IRS has, the credit card processor will shut down your account. It is a matter of compliance with that multi headed monster call the tax code.
PayPal is also required to report the total value of transaction once you pass a certain threshold. IIRC that threshold is about $10,000. If you are sellng more than $10,000 a year, then it probably is a business rather than a hobby.