OPINION:
When my kids were young and money was tight, I decided to sell items we were no longer using. Instead of holding a garage sale, I posted our items on eBay, so people worldwide could purchase them.
It worked. We made significantly more money than we would have at a yard sale. I now have a part-time business reselling items — ranging from golf equipment to household electronics — that I find in thrift stores, auctions and other online platforms.
Unfortunately, a new tax regulation is discouraging people like me from trying their hand at selling items online. The IRS now requires anyone who sells more than $600 worth of items online — even if they don’t earn a profit — to receive a 1099-K form and have their sales reported to the agency. Thinking back to when I first started selling, I know the fear of running afoul of the IRS would have discouraged me. I worry now that Americans are being discouraged from launching a business that could change their lives the way mine did.
Without action from Congress, a generation of entrepreneurs could simply disappear. Congress must pass legislation that’s included in the Big Beautiful Bill to raise the reporting threshold — and help Americans like me start a business.
The $600 limit will go into place next year. Before the 2021 law was passed, only people who had $20,000 in sales and had 200 transactions were required to report those earnings.
Under the new rule, parents selling sports equipment their children have outgrown or students selling used textbooks will have their earnings reported to the IRS as income, even if they’ve taken a loss on the items.
In short, this new reporting requirement fails to distinguish between Americans running a business and those holding the online equivalent of a garage sale.
The good news is my senator, Bill Hagerty, has introduced the SNOOP Act, which would raise the reporting threshold to its previous $20,000 limit and 200 transaction limit. A similar proposal is part of the reconciliation bill the Senate is currently considering.
On behalf of future entrepreneurs — and anyone who has ever bought or sold something online — I urge Congress to eliminate the red tape so casual online sellers, like the kind I used to be, can thrive.
Small businesses are the foundation of the American economy. Our government should encourage their growth, not put up unnecessary barriers to their success.
ANDREW SCHARFF
Chattanooga, Tennessee
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