If you resold Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets, the IRS is watching — A new rule from the IRS is punishing those who resold tickets for more than $600 in profit with a tax penalty::A new rule from the IRS is punishing those who resold tickets for more than $600 in profit with a tax penalty.
Fuck scalpers, but I refuse to look at the $600 tax rule as anything other than a way for the government to squeeze money from and spy more on the common people.
Edit: to clarify I’m not rooting for the scalpers, I just don’t want this governmental overreach to be put in a positive light just because its also affecting people we rightfully hate.
For those that don’t know. The $600 tax rule is a requirement that Zelle, Venmo, etc must report transactions over $600 to the government so they can be taxed. Get a $600 graduation gift from grandma? Taxed. Get $1000 from your roommates to pay rent? You now have to document and show that so its not taxed. Sell a bike (that you ALREADY paid sales tax on using money you ALREADY paid income tax on) for $800, would you look at that its going on the tax form.
Why? Isn’t the person selling the tickets for a $600 profit there one squeezing money from the common people?
If corporations paid the way they should the country would be in a lot less money issues than it is.
Here in the UK it’s often talked about and people get angry about Bob the builder doing cash only work and not paying his taxes. Just another plan from the government and media to cause in fighting rather than look at the real issue, big corps.
But also fuck scalpers so I’m torn.
Yes? I’m against both of the parties in my comment. Maybe I made it sound like I’m in the scalpers side with my tax complaints, I’m not. I just don’t want this government overreach to be placed in a positive light just because its also affecting people we hate.
Yeah I agree - as a small time gigging musician, fuck scalpers and also fuck government overreach here. Anything that hurts scalpers (in all fields, but tickets especially) is interesting to me and the average concert goer, but if it comes at the cost of broadly limiting the used music gear market, among thousands of other used equipment communities, it’s misdirected legislature at best.
The companies and systems that enable scalping and customer extortion such as Live Nation absolutely need to be limited and restricted, but setting a broad limit across all secondhand sales at $600 when it was previously $20,000 is an inaccurate miscorrection. More informed and nuanced legislature is necessary
To add a bit more context to this for the unaware: LiveNation is the umbrella Corp that owns TicketMaster as well as over 70% (IIRC) of the live music industry in the U.S. They’re making a killing on tickets, alcohol sales, backend software licensing, and many different artist/event management firms. They also pay their employees the lowest wages relative to the rest of the live music industry, which was already a vastly underpaid industry before Live Nation came to power in the 2010’s. Further, the CEO’s salary increased by 1000% between 2019 and 2023 while the peasants got a meaningless raise from pre-inflation starvation wages to post-inflation starvation wages. They’re the epitome of an exploitative monopoly, at every level.
Source: Current part time employee of LiveNation and 14 year veteran of the live music industry.
A list of their subsidiaries: https://investors.livenationentertainment.com/sec-filings/annual-reports/content/0001193125-08-043193/dex211.htm?TB_iframe=true&height=auto&width=auto&preload=false
It’s not just transactions. $600 is the lower limit on taxable income. I used to do food delivery and if you make under $600 for the year it’s not reported and not taxable. You’re supposed to report any income over $600.
Already paid tax thing is not applicable, it’s literally how taxation works. The government gets their share at each point. Everytime a taxable good changes hands, with exception, the tax is applied again.
I know that’s how it works. I’m complaining because the way it works is bullshit.
Well taxation is completely necessary unless you have a steady stream of cash flowing into the government from another source, which almost no country has and no country will have indefinitely.
We can argue about rates and cut offs but taxation in general is not a bad system
Never said it was a bad system in general. But as a normal citizen not engaging in business I think paying taxes possibly 4 times (federal income tax, state income tax, sales tax when first bought new, sales tax when sold as used) on the same item is wrong.
You should not be paying tax unless you turned a profit on the sale.
You’re right but, If you bought the bike years ago there’s a strong chance you no longer have the receipt/invoice.