Forum

Originally Posted by thedickbib (Post 278437)

only thing I can think of so far that might work is to go combo legit and partial stealth. Partial stealth for amazon after Dec. 26th - legit to avoid issues with the IRS.

Try getting a box at a mail boxes etc. type place in a different town than your original suspended account that will be a regular looking street address as opposed to a PO Box address and set up a stealth account based on this address using a variation of your real name so it won't be totally out of line with your new TIN. Use your middle name as your first name or something along those lines. If your name that got suspended is William Joseph Smith call yourself Liam Smith or Joe Smith. Use stealth everything else. That may be enough to fool amazon.

Once you get back on amazon and start making sales apply for an EIN with your real IRS info and the new box address as the business address.

If you are making over 20K you are simply going to have pay your taxes. if you are making under 20K you are gong to have to think long and hard it about it.

I know paying taxes on under 20K is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do but it worries me if all the sudden you start reporting this income in 2012 it will trigger the IRS to start looking backwards for more. If there is no 1099-K form going to the IRS it might be better to let sleeping dogs lie.

Originally Posted by ploughman (Post 280949)

I'd also have to chime in that this issue cries out for some guidance of some kind here, even if it's just sharing stories of approaches taken and what seemed to work and what didn't. The problem could be as much of a threat to some as suspensions.

Also, many people out there might not be too far above that $20K threshold, so consulting with professionals, while advisable, doesn't always get done (at least as a first resort) because of cost.

It seems that Amazon is setting an unreasonably low threshold at 50 transactions, given how many low-dollar items they have for sale. You could easily do that many and still be under $1,000, when the IRS is really looking at $20K and up. Seems as if Amazon is using this as an excuse to collect SSNs, shut down accounts and otherwise become very controlling. They deserve to be "rewarded" with lots of administrative headaches and complaints, as I'd bet the majority of those at 50+ transactions are still neither $20K in revenues nor full-time. You can easily hit that just doing it for side income. It could be a real revenue loser if it runs off sellers.