US Dept of the Treasury and Aged Puerh Tea

45 Replies
Cwyn said

It could just be a randomly flagged transaction. If PayPal is under some scrutiny, as part of their agreement with the gov they may have agreed to random transaction inspections.

TeaLife.HK said

I hope that’s all it is. YS rocks and Scott has some really great teas. PayPal are a real PITA sometimes. :/

BTW, Cwyn, hi! :) I read your blog from time to time. You are hilarious!

TeaLife.HK said

Actually, come to think of it, I’ve had transactions (headed my way) flagged a few times, but there was never any mention of the Treasury Department. PayPal and their mysterious ways…

Cwyn said

Hi JayinHK, thanks! I tried asking my post office about some of my tea hold ups and the postmaster told me it is because I’m a “suspicious character.”

TeaLife.HK said

Lol, great answer :D accurate, too

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AllanK said

Scott said it’s this product that caused the problem. It used to say certified organic and Scott removed that but it apparently it still caused him some problems afterward.
http://yunnansourcing.com/en/otherfactories/3854-2006-chang-tai-hao-tian-xia-tong-an-certified-organic-raw-pu-erh-tea.html

TeaLife.HK said

Strange that that product would cause issues. Sounds like nice tea though. Want!

boychik said

This tea I ordered too. It is very nice @ JayinHK. I’m surprised that my order was on hold because of it

Brian said

i ordered this too. ill let you know if it gets flagged.

@Brian Did you try to order it?

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AllanK said

Scott also suggested it had something to do with this at least potentially. PayPal recently paid a large sum of money to the government because they didn’t flag transactions that should have been so now they are over reacting.
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20150325_33.aspx

TeaLife.HK said

Right, that definitely might be part of it—increased scrutiny so they don’t get fined again. I posted an article about this on page 1 of this thread. I also found out the Dept of the Treasury now accept PayPal payments. :D

Cwyn said

PayPal has a lot to lose. Even if they are not at fault over anything, they have been fighting for years to avoid tax reporting. The reality is people make whole incomes every day by selling goods and services with PayPal payment, and then dodge tax responsibilities. PayPal is a tax shelter, let’s face it, and the reality is that consumers are not going to give that up. If the gov requires more reporting from PayPal along these lines, another similar payment service will open up somewhere else. PayPal knows well the need to keep things status quo, millions to be made and if not them, then someone else will.

PayPal is currently required to report gross income for any account taking in 20k+ In sales.

Cwyn said

That is easy enough to avoid with a new email.

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My accounts are all in the US, we are an Oregon S-Corp. I am pretty sure it’s Paypal reacting to keywords in the name of that particular product, doing a manual review and then realizing it’s not the name of a Uighur terrorist (or whatever).

At first I thought it was because it said “Certified Organic” but I removed that from the title and it still happened… not to mention I have 13 other products with “Certified Organic” in the title which didn’t trip their “review”.

At some point Paypal will get it’s head out of it’s ass. They are paranoid because they were sued by the US Dept. of Treasury for allowing a $7000 transfer of funds to someone on the “watchlist”. Paypal paid out 7 million to the Dept of Treasury. That’s a pretty damn good ROI!

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20150325_33.aspx

Rasseru said

When I grow up I want to be the department of treasury

@Rasseru Since the IRS is a sub-branch of the Treasury you could abolish the IRS. I’m pretty sure I’d be happy to give you 10% of my pu if you could accomplish that!

AllanK said

There is always a fringe candidate of the Republican Party who talks about abolishing the IRS. I think it should be done too. Nothing I hate more than the IRS.

@AllanK Agreed!

AllanK said

I believe income taxes were illegal until around 1917.

Kaylee said

And how are we going to fund roads, schools, regulatory agencies, police, firefighters, and ambulances?

AllanK said

I think the theory if you don’t have an income tax you have a sort of sales tax on goods. If you buy less you pay less. Presumably they wouldn’t tax food. Tea would fall under the food classification and not be taxed also.

Tea taxes have a tendency to backfire in the US…

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