From CNET News: "The U.S. Treasury Department wants Congress to force auction sites like eBay, Amazon.com and uBid.com to turn over the identities and Social Security numbers of a large portion of their users to the IRS--so tax collectors know how much each person made through online selling.

The effort is part of a larger plan, which enjoys enthusiastic support from both Democrats and Republicans, to close what's known as the "tax gap." It's a broad term that covers Americans who don't file tax returns or those who underreport their income, and the IRS believes it to total around $345 billion for the 2001 tax year."   More

My comments: This type of income should be reported when there is a material amount of it. There may be some arguments for not reporting it in limited situations. If you sell your old boat on eBay, mostly like you'll have a non-reportable personal loss. If you are buying boats to resell them on eBay, then I'd say you have a business, and you need to be reporting it on your 1040. Material omissions of income from your 1040 tax return is a serious matter. Whether or not Congress acts to require auction sites to report these sales doesn't matter. If someone fails to report to you taxable income that you earned, the law (and this CPA) says you still have to report it.