flat screen monitor at CyberRebate(only $6000 up front)

[mysterX]

http://www.cyberrebate.com
search for SKU #42020

[TheLoneGunman]

I am waiting for:

1 Slightly used US Spy Plane $3,500,000,000
REBATE $3,500,000,000

Shipping $3.95

[Twilight]

Hmm.... so, anyone know what brand this is or what resolution and stuff? Are these flat screen monitors like the monitors in laptops that don't show colors as well as regular monitors? I'm a photojournalist, so what I see on my screen must be accurate. Also, anyone want to calculate the interest this would rack up on a credit card at 3.9%? What's the current timeframe for cyberrebate payouts?

[fakesurfers]

cyberrebate sucks....send me 6k, ill send you a crappy monitor and maybe in 6-12 months, ill send your money back

[MadCool]

Only 6000 dollars... wtf.... Sux!

[faither]

Okay. Now I've seen it all. If anyone has a way to determine if anybody has actually taken them up on this, please post.

[J-Dogg]

What in the world is Cyberrebate doing? If I knew they weren't going out of business, I would probably do some of this shit. Is everyone sure they are about to take a dive?

[BrewMaster]

Hey LongGunman, remeber the Submarine from Neiman Marcus in Demeber? It had free shipping....

hehe :)

[Redcow]

Although it seems possible that cyberrebate is runing out of steam, and trying to rack up some cash flow with these dvds and new electronics pieces, im still not sure they're going to go under just yet.

I've purchased close to $1000 in cyberrebate products over the past year, and received every penny back. Granted, they added shit like "rebate code #" etc.. to make the process a little more annoying, but if you follow the directions, make backups of your upc/rebate forms (although i've never had to use them), I dont think you'll have problems.

[J-Dogg]

I agree, a lot of people are against them, but I've had equally good service from them. I've gotten all my rebates back, some in the thousands. It's just that everyone is saying that they are going under. These rumors are especially nasty seeing that a lot of us still have outstanding rebates. Does anyone have real evidence or can site articles about cyberrebate going belly up?

[m0j0]

Originally posted by Twilight
Hmm.... so, anyone know what brand this is or what resolution and stuff? Are these flat screen monitors like the monitors in laptops that don't show colors as well as regular monitors? I'm a photojournalist, so what I see on my screen must be accurate. Also, anyone want to calculate the interest this would rack up on a credit card at 3.9%? What's the current timeframe for cyberrebate payouts?

laptop lcd's are really good these days. you must be talking about the dual scans or something.

[J-Dogg]

Twilight, currently cyberrebate is taking about 4 months to return your rebates. Even if you paid $1500 a month for four months, at 3.9%, you'll be paying $351. The only way I'd purchase anything from cyberrebate is by paying my CC bill when I get it, otherwise I'd be losing money. Unfortunately I don't have 6k in the bank right now :)

[INeedAVacation]

whoa j-dogg, those numbers seem waaaay off to me.
I don't have a calculator in front of me right now so I can't give the correct amount but I do know that if someones credit card is at the rate of 3.9%APR that is their "Annual Percentage Rate" which mean you divide that by 12 (months) then times that by 3 (the approximate number of months expected for the rebate checks to be issued) and then times that by the amount borrowed to get how much you will be paying in interest.
Like this:
.039 divided by 12 then multiplied by 3, take that number and multiply it by $1,500 and that is about how much interest you will incur.
*You can also tweek those numbers by making the purchase right after your credit card statement closes so that you may be able to get basically a whole month free of interest (depends on exactly when you receive the rebate check).*

Also, use dash.com or ******.com and that totally offsets the finance charge since with a $1,500 purchase you would get $75 back.

So, take the merchandise, the $75, and free shipping and then subtract the time/effort and the finance charges and I still say this is a good deal.

The only thing to be weary of is if they go out of business but I have yet to see any proof that may occur; these rumors have been around for long time. It doesn't mean it can't happen, I'm just sayin'.....


p.s. using dash or ****** you would get back $300 from a $6,000 purchase.

[Edited by INeedAVacation on 04-03-2001 at 06:46 PM]

[Nanotech9]

Start > Run > type CALC > Click OK == instant calculator.

[J-Dogg]

I meant to type around $35, not $351. Hehe, that's one hell of a high APR! The charges could be as high as $47, or as low as $28, depending on when in the cycle you pay your bills. I just wish cyberrebate could gaurantee me that I would definitely get my rebate back. We would all get screwed big time if they declared bankrupcy. But they have added so much to their site in the last two weeks and changed their rules, it makes me wonder why.

[Cyberian]

"I just wish cyberrebate could gaurantee me that I would definitely get my rebate back. "

I wish that Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny would come to my house.

[J-Dogg]

Originally posted by Cyberian
I wish that Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny would come to my house.

What, you mean they don't? What did you do wrong? :eek:

[rum]

Hmm...CyberRebates down right now. Upgrading their infrastructure or something. Gotta check out the deal when/if they come back.

[INeedAVacation]

hmm..the site is down right now......hummmm...never saw that happen before........odd

[INeedAVacation]

site's back up :) !!

[INeedAVacation]

cool nanotech, thanks.

at an interest rate of 3.9% it would run a person $14.625

after using ****** or dash the person would be in the positive by $60.375
hmm.....

[twiggyop]

Yeah, and after cyberrebate went under, one would be in the negative 6k range, and if you didn't have the cash on hand - that would continue to increase over time.

Lets compare things here, shall we. Lets say the monitor is worth $500ish - I dont know. 500/6000 means that if the odds are 1 in 12 (~8%) that cyber rebate is going under, then the gamble is fair. I wouldn't give you odds that good though. I would say 1 in 5 or so that they go under in 4 months, so you are doing far worse than playing blackjack at the casinos on one 6000 hand. My math may be off some, but the numbers will agree with me no matter how you approach this problem.

[Edited by twiggyop on 04-04-2001 at 11:11 AM]

[LostBoy]

We learned on Monday that the IRS has s subpoenaed the CyberRebate accounts payable records for tax years 1999 and 2000. According to the Philadelphia IRS office, all reimbursements over $500.00 must be reported to the IRS and the payee via Form 1099-Misc. This requirement is under the same tax code as a sweepstakes wins, lottery wins, game show prizes, etc. The real stickler here is that just like game show wins, the tax is determined by the purchase price and not the “value” of the items Wow, just think about some of those recent items that they have been selling! The tax owed by the payee could easily exceed 3-5 times its’ street value

I know what you are thinking as we were thinking the same thing too when we first heard of this. The IRS has no way of telling who I am from the CyberRebate records since I did not give CyberRebate my SSN and a SSN is required to receive a 1099. Since we currently represent some 85 of CyberRebate’s former customers is a class action suit, we called the Philadelphia office to confirm this action. Here is what we were told.

“The IRS has the authority to subpoena your SSN from the credit card company/companies (or at least the SSN of the person’s credit card that you used for CyberRebate purchases) that were used for purchases. It is ultimately the individual taxpayer’s obligation to report ALL income regardless of its source. The fact that CyberRebate was irresponsible and did not send you a 19099-MISC for your 100% rebate purchases is no excuse and those who fail to report will be sent a form CP-200 showing the additional income reported to their tax payer ID and any subsequent taxes and penalties owed”

Just think about it, if you purchased $10,000.00 of the CyberRebate crap in 2000, you could now owe on average $3,000.00 in taxes to the IRS. The actual value of the 10K crap that you purchased is around $600.00. You now have paid 5x the retail value for the items that you received! That $6000.00 LCD monitor will only cost you $1200.00 after rebates and taxes.

WOW now that’s a deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


[Edited by LostBoy on 04-04-2001 at 11:46 AM]

[Redcow]

quite true.

When I first explained ebay to my father (an accountant) he gave me a similar proposal. I wonder when the IRS is going to crack down on Ebay and start another big fiasco.

CyberRebate seems to be one of the "last men standing" in the whole tech-boom, and within the next 6 months it'll probably fall, especially with the market tricking off like it is, and marketing/advertising firms no longer puting so much stock (avoid the pun) in websites.

I was tempted to buy some DVD's from CyberRebate last month, but i'd rather use an Amazon gc or find a deal for around $8 than pay $169 and hope for a return.

I've currently got ~$400 in rebates, all have been received, just pending payment.

[J-Dogg]

Well I have to admit, Lostboy, even though that's crappy news, it's cool to have you informing us what is going on from the "inside". I knew that we had to report all tax-free internet purchases and pay taxes on them, but always wondered if I should or not with Cyberrebate.

Now am I gauranteed to be sent a CP-200 form if I don't report my cyberrebate taxes? Or is there just a chance it could happen? Like not everyone gets audited, that sort of thing. Is the IRS head hunting cyberrebate or the people that bought from them? My only purchase over $500 was in January of this year. Now does "over $500 reimbursement" mean on your total purchase, or on one item? The latter seems to make more sense. Can you clue us in?

[Edited by J-Dogg on 04-04-2001 at 01:53 PM]

[twiggyop]

The best way I would see to get around taxes on cyber-rebate would be to claim the purchases were business expenses to a sole proprietership. If this includes, DVDs - you're probably screwed, but monitors would work. Businesses pay taxes only on profits, not income and since the net profit was only the asset value of the monitor(now used), it wouldn't be overly significant. If any of you have problems with it, talk to a decent CPA before handing over the cash to the IRS. But of course, all disclaimers to my name - don't quote me or assume I am correct.

[LostBoy]

J Dogg - To hear the IRS tell it, everyone with purchases that "quailify" (i.e. 100% rebate) will receive the form, but we all know that the reality is that the IRS does not have the resources to pull off such a stunt. They will probably pick a group of the hig spenders (or in my opinion high rollers) and make an example out of them. According to CyberRebate's own data about 10% of their customers have purchased 10K or more and about 2% purchasing 50K or more. These are the ones, in our opinion, that the IRS will target. The final icing on the cake would be if (like it really is an if) CyberRebate does finaly close shop this year, people who do not receive all their rebates will still have a tax liability for the rebate awards that they did receive even though they may loose thousands in rebates that CyberRebate does not fulfill. These unfulfilled rebates claims would NOT be deductable from the tax liability from the rebates already received. The way the tax code is written is really messed up. It is the same situation that you may have experienced with your mutal fund last year where the overall return of the fund is negative for the year, yet they paid out a dividend during the year which has a tax liability.

[LostBoy]

twiggyop - For the most part you are absolutely correct. Thy only two flaws in your statement are that you must already have a business setup for the tax year that you are claiming a business expensee deduction/depreciation. The second is that the IRS allows business owners to deduct what they call "reasonable business expenses" The way that they destermine this is by comparing your deduction for an item against the "average cost for the item". As you can see it would be extremely hard to justify that you claimed a $6000.00 deduction for a 15" monitor that sells for $500.00. Can you say Audit

[twiggyop]

Lostboy - I by no means am an expert, but if I remember correctly, a sole proprietorship (sp?) is not a separate entity from an individual and therefore no filing is required. You're point about an Audit is quite true though - may work for $30 pens, but probably not $6k monitors.

[INeedAVacation]

Lost Boy, in your opinion how long does cyberrebate have and what are the chances of someone who has bought...oh, I don't know, around $10,000-$20,000 worth of merchadise having to pay the IRS??


I'm also curious, about how much are you seeking in the class action law suit?(please don't take all their money)


p.s. does anyone REALLY know how they "intend" on making money? We have all heard the theories like "interest" and "stock market" but does anyone REALLY know? And does anyone REALLY know how they are doing financially?

[LostBoy]

INeedAVacation - I don’t know about the IRS. We have never been able to figure out their priorities in our past dealings with them. As for the chances of getting hit with a 1099-MISC, I would guess that it depends on how good is the bookkeeping at CR?

As for our involvement, we are council for 4 separate civil actions against CR. I can't discuss specifics about the cases but you can probably figure out their nature. Let just say it does not look to good for our clients at this point. Even if we do get a favorable ruling, it is unlikely that our clients will recoup enough to cover our legal fees. In addition, it is almost impossible to find a sympathetic jury who will side with someone who paid $800.00 for a toaster or $160.00 for a DVD. Juries do not generally respond to outright stupidity.

Anyway, all CR news is not bad this week. According to our inside man, apparently CR’s current high profile product offerings are bringing in some needed cash. CR has missed several check pay dates in late March, but has issued a check run on 4/1 to catch up with the delinquencies. If you have checks due for this period, you should receive them this week. They have also funded check runs for 4/15, 5/1, and 5/15 so everything looks safe up to that point. CR viability after these dates is of course contingent on the incoming cash. We know these dates because they must notify the holder of the rebate escrow account for pending withdrawals. As I have stated in the forum previously all this talk about CR making money be investing or earning interest on your money is total BS. It is illegal to use funds from promotional programs such as rebates for other than the intended promotional program. This is why they are required to use an escrow account much the same as most of you have for your mortgages.

Remember that CR purchases are nothing more than gambling. All gamblers feel the high when their winning, but until you have left the casino the game is not over. You don’t count your money to the dealin is done!

Be careful INeedAVacation. We would hate to see you have to change your name to INeedALawyer

[INeedAVacation]

me too.....and if I did you guys might get me for copywrite infringement of something... :) - haha

Thanks for all that info. though, I needed some reasuring after seeing all this negative publicity lately.

LostBoy, you said, "According to the Philadelphia IRS office, all reimbursements over $500.00 must be reported to the IRS and the payee via Form 1099-Misc." -Does that mean if the total rebated amount from a purchase or per item since customers are sent individual checks for each item purchased? If its all rebate checks they send you which are over $500 I can't recall too many itmes I bought which were over $500 so that doesn't sound too bad for me.....unless I buy a flat screen monitor or something anytime soon...



by the way, does your insider know how the heck they DID actually plan on making money in this business? What is their business model supposed to be?



[Edited by INeedAVacation on 04-05-2001 at 12:55 AM]

[LostBoy]

INeedAVacation - According to the IRS. the $500.00 is for total "compennsation". In their view, the rebate checks that you receive are just like bonuses that you receive at your work and are taxable income. I would not worry about any of this unless you actually receive a form CP-200 or a letter from the IRS. If you do get such a notice, since they consider it income, you can also deuct some or all of your rebate related expenses such as you time to print and complete the forms, printer ink, printer, computer, postage, CC interest, etc..

The CyberRebate business model is still a BIG mystery. According to CyberRebate, their business model is as follows...

They intend to make money by selling products through their ecommerce website. They will offer a few promotional items free after a mail in rebate, but the bulk of the items sold will not offer a 100% rebate and will be sold at a nominal price. These other items that customers purchase along with the 100% promotional items will provide the revenue for CyberRebate. In addition we will sell advertising on our website which will provide a parallel revenue stream.

Well we all know that this business model is pure CRAP. How many people do you know who go to the CyberRebate site and purchase items that are not 100% rebate items ? The percentage of 100% off items to others is at least 10 to 1. Their other items are sold well above the manufacturer's suggested retail price and can be found in any local store for a lot less. As for advertising, how many advertisments have you ever seen on the CyberRebate site?

[INeedAVacation]

so if I say my time is worth $500 an hour.... :)

[twiggyop]

Then they'll wonder why your income doesn't have more digits.

[INeedAVacation]

one word, "underemployed" :)

[TheLoneGunman]

I will have absolutely NO sympathy for anyone who loses money at CyberRebate.

There have been so many warnings.

[Ant6177]

I agree with the LoneGunman cyberrebate is getting a little ridiculous with this rebate stuff.

[INeedAVacation]

Even if I don't order much from them in the near future and they do go out of business I'd feel bad for others who ran across a business which has been around for a few years and has paid back over eighty-five million to its customers and who then decided to buy something, fill out the required forms only to not get reimbursed.
I did the casino on net deal where you had to first deposit $2,000 in an account with a casino who was off shore in order to get a $200 bonus which we could then cash out after wagering (half on black/half on red same spin on roulette). That was risky, I did it. I got $1200 in the mail a few days later.

[Edited by INeedAVacation on 04-10-2001 at 06:43 PM]

[TheLoneGunman]

arrrrrgggggg!

Yes, now you are going too far.

Sympathy - A feeling or an expression of pity or sorrow for the distress of another; compassion or commiseration.

According to that defination, I have none for anyone in the CyberRebate situation. I also have none for people who touch a hot stove (AFTER they have been warned), those people who rupture their tires backing up after seeing the "don't back up" warning, and those people that actually catch a cold after mom warms them not to go out like that because "you will catch your death!"

I have been unemployed the past few months, yet I have still donated money to charity. In fact, I donated over 100% (I added in some personal items) of all my CyberRebate items [in unused condition] to charity.

I am fairly certain that in your greed infested state that you did not do the same. Therefore, I will feel no compassion when in an irrational state you or your ilk throw money into an obviously doomed scheme (where exactly did the $85 million come from??) and you receive your comeuppance.

No, I did not do any casino deals, and if I did, I realize I would be taking the same risk as CyberRebate.

[LostBoy]

TheLoneGunman - Actually the $85 Million payout number on their website is wrong. The correct number is just under $29 Million as reported by Cyberrebate to the IRS on 3/31. CyberRebate has already been fined for the misleading information and has agreed to post the correct amount. If you call their customer support line, they disclose the correct amount in the recording that you hear when you are waiting on a CSR. If you receall they also claimed that they had thousands of "free" items available a few months back when actually they were listing the same items as many as 5 times in different categories. They blamed this one on a programming error ? Yeh right!

Even though we are bias against CyberRebate since we are in litigation with them, it never ceases to amaze me how many people in this forum actually buy from them. Some of you guys will bend over backwards to save a few bucks using coupon codes, yet you do not think twice about spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars with CyberRebate without so much as a phone call to your state attorney general's office to check for complaints against the company. I am with TheLoneGunman, I have NO sympathy with anyone who has money tied up with CyberRebate.

[datagirl7]

From the IRS website:
"
Gambling winnings. You must include your gambling winnings in your income on line 21 of Form 1040. If you itemize your deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), you can deduct gambling losses you had during the year, but only up to the amount of your winnings.

Cash rebates. A cash rebate you receive from a dealer or manufacturer of an item you buy is not income.
"

So it appears that they are not treated the same, nor will we have to pay taxes on ther rebates.

[LostBoy]

Actually datagirl7, you are sadly mistaken. Perhaps you should quote current tax code. 100% Rebates ARE considered Income as of the tax reform act of 1996. The code that you are quoting is for manufactuer rebates and does not even apply if 100% of your purchase price is refunded.

We have a staff of 12 full time corporate lawyers and some 35 Paralegals in our company who do nothing but research such laws. Perhaps you should check with your accountant or call the IRS directly to get clarification. If you receive a 100% refund on your purchase, that refund is earned income. It is ignorance like yours that will eventually get you into trouble with the IRS.

[twiggyop]

LostBoy, now that was harsh. Calm down a bit.

[datagirl7]

I'm sorry I'm "sadly mistaken" and "ignorant" (boy, aren't you in a good mood today?) but I have some problems with what you are saying.

First, I have done several free after rebate deals at Walgreens, CompUSA, etc. and they have never taken my SSN, nor indicated that I would have to pay income tax on what I bought. I can believe tha CR might not be following acceptable business practices, but find it hard to believe that other companies such as the above aren't informing us of this if it is true.

Second, on the CURRENT IRS site, looking at every article that applied to individuals that referenced the word rebate, I can find nothing other than that one quote above stating that rebates are not taxable. In fact, the IRS site actually capitalizes the NOT in the below sentence, I did not add it. It does not go on to say anything more than what I have included, to indicate that there are any restrictions on the below statement.

In Publication 17 and publication 525 the IRS clearly states that: "Cash rebates. A cash rebate you receive from a dealer or manufacturer of an item you buy is not income.

Example. You buy a new car for $9,000 cash and receive a $400 rebate check from the manufacturer. The $400 is not income to you. Your cost is $8,600. This is your basis on which you figure gain or loss if you sell the car, and depreciation if you use it for business. "

It also says, "A cash rebate you receive from a dealer or manufacturer of an item that you buy is NOT income. You should reduce your basis in the item by the amount of the cash rebate when figuring gain or loss if you sell or exchange the item or to figure depreciation on an item used in a trade or business or in an activity for the production of income. "
See http://www.irs.gov/prod/ind_info/tax_trails/5/atl5-7x102.html



Now, it appears that if you are a business this may be true:

"To the extent that a retailer receives allowances or rebates from vendors after the initial purchase of merchandise and fails to properly account for the allowances or rebates, the retailer may be understating gross profit or improperly reflecting a gross loss on the sale of merchandise. Income from rebates or credits is includable when the right to receive it becomes fixed and certain. In Rev. Rul. 74-607, 1974-2 C.B. 149, the Service ruled that all the events that fix the right to receive income occur on the earliest of when:
The required performance takes place
Payment is due
Payment is made
Negotiation of the terms of the purchase of merchandise is a major aspect of the position of buyer for a retailer. The buyer is responsible for assuring that the merchandise to be acquired can be sold at a retail price which will generate the targeted profit percentage. Some retailers desire a no frills purchase for the lowest possible price. In most transactions, however, there are numerous incentive allowances or rebates offered or demanded as part of the overall negotiated price. These allowances may initially result in a higher purchase price for the merchandise ordered, but the retailer expects that this higher initial cost will be more than offset by the allowances. "
from : http://www.irs.gov/prod/bus_info/tax_pro/irm-part/part04/27598c.html#ss46

I have shown you why I don't believe individuals have to pay taxes on rebates (since the IRS EXPLICITLY says we don't have to). Please show me where it does say that we have to pay taxes on rebates.

[Edited by datagirl7 on 04-10-2001 at 07:14 AM]

[datagirl7]

n

[Edited by datagirl7 on 04-06-2001 at 08:48 PM]

[J-Dogg]

Hey, come on people, we're all on the same side here. Let's keep it civilized before the name calling starts :)

[LostBoy]

Once again a little misinformation can be dangerous. First of all you are quoting FRAGMENTED tax information from a pamphlet and NOT tax code. The IRS explicitly states on their website that…

“All information on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as tax advice”

The tax information that you quoted is correct for manufacturer or dealer rebates. However, as I stated in previous posts, the IRS has already ruled that payments from CyberRebate CANNOT be classified as rebates. You can call the Philadelphia office of the IRS as request a copy of the specific ruling on this issue if you want. The ruling basically states that anyone who received over $500.00 (The $500 exclusion rule applies here) from CyberRebate is running a business and not purchasing for personal consumption. Their ruling was based on customer data subpoenaed from CyberRebate. The proxy that is the basis of their case is that 80% of all purchases from CyberRebate receive a cash incentive (NOT A REBATE) equal to or greater than the cost of the merchandise from CyberRebate and its associated customer referral companies. If you want to blame someone for this ruling then blame CyberRebate because that is how CyberRebate is classifying their cash payments to you on their quarterly and yearly federal tax returns. You can also blame referral companies such as ******, Dash and others who failed to provide you with a 1099-Misc for revenue that they paid you for CyberRebate purchases. Ultimately, though you ARE responsible for the tax return that you file, even if you are ignorant to the current tax law. The IRS does not
Accept ignorance as an excuse for non payment of taxes. Believe me we here this several times a week from their lawyers in cases that of IRS disputes that we represent

According to the IRS, everyone who received compensation over $500.00 will receive IRS form CP-200 if they did not report the income. From CP-200 is a tax report that shows discrepancies between your reported income and the income reported by others on Forms W-2, W-4, and all the variances of the 1099 form. It also shows the penalty and interest owed on any non-reported income.

The tax code statutes that the IRS ruling on CyberRebate referenced above was based on 4.4.3 & 4.19.1 (April 1999) if you want to look it up

BTW. It is a felony to publish or post (i.e. post on this website as above) tax code or IRS released publications without including the entire text of the specific publication or tax code statues tax code that you are referencing. The operators of this website can be held liable for the fragmented and linked IRS tax information in this thread

[Edited by LostBoy on 04-07-2001 at 07:55 AM]

[twiggyop]

Thats a little nicer there. No personal attacks. :)

[Neil "Bob" Bigguns]

Damn. Datagirl7 that sucks, not only did you cheat on your taxes, but now you are a Felon as well(maybe you can pay your back taxes with the 10 cents and hour you will make scrubbing toilets in the federal pen). Maybe you can get Lostboy to represent you in court....oops, he has no sympaty for you. I find most of this to be a bunch of crap. The people that did buy "100% off items" from cyberrebate, it seems to me that the only tax liability they would have, would be the actual worth of the item, not the cyberrebate price. As an example, its not like you made $6000 buying that monitor, you have already paid tax on that $6000 dollars when you bought it, your basically just loaning the money for a few months to get the monitor then you get your 6K back. Seems to me that your only gain was a shitty monitor(and maybe an e-bate). So at most I could see an argument for having to add the fair market value of the monitor and the e-bate to your income(maybe as a short term capital gain?) Obviously the tax code is so F'd up(no limit on capital gains, but there is a limit on taxable losses)that what Lostboy is saying is probably true. I could see the IRS taking down tens of thousands of people for some piddily shit like this, while our ex-president pardons the biggest tax crook of all time(marc rich) that is about how F'd up our system is right now. Well, I feel a hell of a lot better now. Thanks for letting me vent. Bigguns p.s. Lostboy, If you gave all your stuff to charity, can you claim the price that you paid before rebate as the amount given to charity on your taxes(up to your charitable limit)?

[twiggyop]

Tax is screwed up. Regular people have to pay a thousand dollars in tax just to get a monitor that isnt worth that much, then microsoft (with the highest profit margins in the world) goes out and doesn't pay any taxes:
http://www.billparish.com/20000418microsoftnotax.html

[WebMonkey]

An two cents from this old fart....Say my employer last year paid me $6000 which I paid %28 taxes on to the IRS. I then decide to go against everyone warnings and lay out my 6K for a $250? monitor. THen eons or months later I get my $6K back that I now have to claim as income AGAIN and pay another %28 on ??????? So I guess I can forget getting a recipt from the Salvation Army for 6k on that monitor...:-(

I hear its quite nice in Bostin this time of year, and there are a few ships in port loaded to the hilt with cases of TEA !!!!

An I was just getting over being down 63% in my IRA

[twiggyop]

Lets have a party webmonkey :)

[Neil "Bob" Bigguns]

I'm in for that party too. I don't drink tea anyhow....how much is beer taxed these days???

[LostBoy]

Hah now beer we could be a write off as being used for “medicinal purposes”. Don't know about tea. AS you remember it was revolt against tea tax that started all this tax stuff anyway. As for the cash incentives on CyberRebate products is works just like that state tax refund that you get that has to be declared on your next year's federal tax return. You already paid tax on the money once, but you still have to claim it as income on 1040. You state tax agency even sends you a 1099 for the refund that you received. No one ever said that the IRS is fair, but you should do anything to avoid pointing them in your direction. They are like a cold sore, they will may go away temporarily, but they are always there under the skin waiting to pop out an the most inconvenient moment!

[WebMonkey]

Thanks all;

I was just trying to change the tone a bit. It was startin to get a bit tense in here.

As far as a tea party, I recomend going to Metropolitan Tea Company @ http://www.metrotea.com They sell only 100% natural herb flavored tea imported from all over the world. They wholesale too for all you 'sol propriators' out there. LOL !!!



==================================
that's my deal, and I'm stickin to it..

[Neil "Bob" Bigguns]

Lostboy, so what if I give it all to charity what amount can I claim, FMV or cyberprice?

[LostBoy]

If you donate all to charity, your deduction would be your total cost (CyberPrice + any interest paid to CC companies while waiting for your "incentative") on the deductions side (since that is your cost) and on the income side it would the CyberRabid "incentative" + any referral "Incentative" (ie ******, Dash, etc) that you may also receive.

[datagirl7]

Not sure if anyone still cares, but I called the IRS today (1-800-829-1040) and spoke to a rebate specialist. He told me that:
a) rebates are not taxable even if they are 100% rebates on the purchase price, if the item is for personal use. He brought up Publication 525.
b) I asked if there were any exceptions, explaining this situation. He could find no info on this being different for cyberrebate (or any other stores that have 100% rebates) even with the tax codes/statutes/dates TLG gave. He actually put me on hold for several minutes and checked and could find nothing.
c) quoting from the IRS webpages is not a felony - he actually laughed when I asked that one.
d) he could find no information about form CP-200 or how it would relate to this situation.

So I, for one, am not losing any sleep over this. Anyone else is free to call the number above and talk to an IRS person if they want. I only waited on hold for about 15 minutes. I'm considering this matter over for me.


[Edited by datagirl7 on 04-07-2001 at 06:07 PM]

[INeedAVacation]

not available for comment

[Edited by INeedAVacation on 04-10-2001 at 06:53 PM]

[INeedAVacation]

I just read datagirl's last post....

Datagirl, I love you, marry me...




[Edited by INeedAVacation on 04-08-2001 at 12:41 AM]

[TheLoneGunman]

Originally posted by INeedAVacation
Two, in previous posts, in this same thread as a matter if fact, you state that you are, "council for 4 separate civil actions against CR. I can't discuss specifics about the cases but you can probably figure out their nature. Let just say it does not look to good for our clients at this point. Even if we do get a favorable ruling, it is unlikely that our clients will recoup enough to cover our legal fees." This i a total contrdiction to what you just posted of being out of work for several months. Which lie are we to believe?

[begin flame] Please take your head out of your a$$. I *NEVER* made the quote you attributed to me. In your rabid state you are confusing me with other members of this board. [end flame]

[INeedAVacation]

unavailable for comment

[Edited by INeedAVacation on 04-10-2001 at 06:53 PM]

[AH3000]

LostBoy,

What law firm do you work for?

[INeedAVacation]

Don't quote me on this but I think its that one that is sueing cyberrebate :)

[LostBoy]

AH3000 - Fox, Rothschild, O'Brien & Frankel of Phil, Pa.

[lookuphere]

So let me get this straight...rebates are not counted as income, right? according to the IRS page that someone previously cited.

[INeedAVacation]

rebates do not count as income. That is what we have heard from an IRS agent datagirl called and that is what I have heard from an H&R rep. whom I trust completely.

[LostBoy]

Once again the total ignorance of INeedAVacation and DataGirl7 cease to amaze us. If they would take the time to read before they speak that may realize how silly there comments are. As I stated in my previous posts...

"THE IRS HAS RULED THAT THE CASH PAYMENTS THAT YOU RECEIVE FROM CYBERREBATE CANNOT BE CLASSIFIED AS REBATES. THEY ARE CONSIDERED INCOME DO TO THE WAY THAT CYBERREBATE HAS CLAIMED THE CASH PAYMENTS THAT YOU RECEIVE AS INCENTATIVES TO THE IRS.

You need to call the IRS and ask specifically about this ruling. Asking them a general question about manufacturer rebates will result in a generic answer. As of the March 31, ruling, You are liable for all monies received from CyberRebate and depening on the due diligence of the IRS you may receive a form CP-200 within the next 3 years. As will all IRS rulings, it is retroactive and you will owe penalties and interest on the unreported income even though CyberRebat fail to proide you with a 1099-Misc.

I guess we should now complaim as it is ignorance like this that keeps us in business

[twiggyop]

Nothing is very amazing but your story LostBoy. This thread needs to get shut down.

[legend]

Lock the thread this is no longer a deal its a debate.

[datagirl7]

When I called the IRS I asked SPECIFICALLY about Cyberrebates as well as 100% rebates. He went away for a few minutes to research this and came back saying he couldn't find anything. If you read my post, you would see I wrote:
"b) I asked if there were any exceptions, explaining this situation. He could find no info on this being different for cyberrebate (or any other stores that have 100% rebates) even with the tax codes/statutes/dates TLG gave. He actually put me on hold for several minutes and checked and could find nothing."

So I have already done what you said. I suggest that anyone else call the IRS if they want.

I fail to see why you continue to call those of us who don't believe you "ignorant". Just because we don't believe you because we can't confirm your story, doesn't make us ignorant. We have checked the IRS site, people have talked to various accountants, and I called the IRS and asked specifically about Cyberrebate. This is hardly the behavior of ignorant people. We have done what we can. If what you say is true, it is one of the best kept secrets. I can find no other instances on the web that mention it at all, either. The government usually isn't shy about asking for money, so I don't believe this is true as we can find no supportive evidence from anywhere you have suggested we look.

I have checked what you say every way you have suggested, and more, but still can't find any confirmation that what you say is true. That is not ignorance. If you know someone specifically at the IRS that we can contact, tell us. But so far it's just been what you say with no substantiation. And so far nothing either you or TLG has said has checked out.


[Edited by datagirl7 on 04-10-2001 at 07:40 AM]

[Got Apex Moderator]

Moved from deals forum

[INeedAVacation]

When I have another kid, if its a girl, I'm gonna name her, "datagirl"

[datagirl7]

So what's that Huntress quote mean anyway?

[sbp]

Yeah INeedAVacation explain that quote. :P

[Doofy]

Lostboy.

What's the ruling number so we can confirm everything that your saying.

Like datagirl7, I decided to call the IRS also. And like Datagirl7, they didn't have a clue about what I was talking about, even after researching the company for a day. However, he said if the ruling was made on Mach 31, 2001, than it's possible that they didn't have that information on hand yet. But if I had the ruling number, they can look it up.

So LostBoy, since you seem to have first hand information regarding this ruling, please give me the reference number so I can confirm what you are saying to the entire GotApex community.

[freenet]

ok im bringing up a topic from the dead...I see where Lostboy and others are arguing...

Yes 100% rebates ARE NOT INCOME.

But , Lostboy is saying that CUBERREBATE has reported, ON ITS TAX FORMS, that it sent "income" to those people who got rebates over $500...so that IT could take the deduction...

Now, If the IRS can pullup all the credit card transactions and order #'s to attribute this "income" to each customer, YES, in THEORY, Lostboy's warning that CUSTOMERS may be hit with an IRS bill is true...

However, what Lostboy and others fail to mention is that 1) the IRS will not do this for reason 2) Its CYBERREBATE that filed its tax returns fraudulently, much like it did other things, so the IRS will likely NOT seek the money from customers due to Cyberrebates incorrect reporting of income....

BTW< LostBoy do you have a law degree?? I do.