A definitive low point in my financial history was bursting into tears as I packed up an 80s tropical print jumpsuit and a 90s silver shirt dress that I’d sold to a woman from Brighton on Depop. I didn’t want to sell them, but I really needed the £45 (minus postage and fees) the buyer had offered me for the two of them. Crying is optional, but it’s a situation that will be familiar to many – selling the contents of your wardrobe to make ends meet.

The likes of eBay, Depop, and Vinted can be a lifeline, allowing sellers to make a little extra money on the side. It means that people like Emily* can fill up her car in the lean days leading up to payday, or Naomi Hooper can afford to buy Christmas presents. But the Tories have decided enough is enough, they’re sick of people marginally improving their day-to-day life and they want a piece of the pie.

There are now new rules that the UK has signed up to via the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as part of a global effort to clamp down on tax avoidance. Under these rules, digital platforms in the UK which facilitate the sale of goods and services are now obliged to share information about sellers’ incomes with HMRC to “bear down on tax evasion”. Sure, the government could tackle the UK’s ultra-rich “non-doms” like, say, Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murthy, who collectively avoid £3.2 billion in tax each year, or maybe they could remove tax exemptions from private schools to raise around £1.6 billion a year. But no, they’re going after the real villains – the Vinted and Depop girlies.

Emma Lawrie uses Vinted to sell mostly vintage women’s clothing and accessories. “I had to move unexpectedly in the summer, so the rent’s gone through the roof and the commute cost is more because we went another zone out to get a half-decent flat,” she says. “I used to be able to get my nails done once a month and have occasional pints midweek on a whim… now the side hustle pays for the extras when it used to get saved up for a rainy day.”

“We’re all really struggling at the moment, and I’ve really appreciated Vinted as a way of making a trickle of money. In October and November, I sold a shit load of stuff, built up my balance and bought most of my Christmas presents with it,” says Hooper, who describes the news as “depressing and demoralising”.

While many are understandably feeling unfairly targeted, it’s worth clarifying that casual sellers are not about to get taxed on every last item they sell, and everybody doesn’t have to start filling out tax returns. Platforms will only have to share the details of sellers who make over 30 transactions per year or sales totalling over £1,735. According to Adam Jay, the Chief Executive of Vinted, only a “small proportion of users” will actually trigger that threshold for reporting, which is due from January 2025.

Ostensibly the new rules are designed to target people who are running thriving resale businesses on the side without declaring their earnings, but it’s the focus on such small fry (£1,735 works out to just £145 per month) that sticks in the craw.

Among everyone Dazed spoke to for this article, a consensus emerged: tax is vital to fund the likes of the NHS and people feel happy – even privileged - to pay their fair share, but this move feels anything but fair. Instead, it is yet another example of the Tories piling the pressure and anxiety (the number of interviewees who chose to be anonymous illustrates such anxiety) on those who are already struggling while letting their rich pals off to the tune of billions.

There’s also the question of what it might do to the burgeoning circular economy. “I think sadly, it may prevent people from selling their unwanted clothes and items and result in people just throwing things away instead. Especially as tax can be very confusing; there will be people who feel it may not be worth their time to sell items second-hand,” says Aisha*.

It’s already happening. “I’ve definitely been thinking that I’ll do less selling on Vinted in 2024 since hearing about the new policy,” says Sarah*. “It just doesn’t feel super worth it anymore, which is a shame because Vinted has been such an efficient place to get rid of clothes I don’t wear.”

Several people mentioned the appeal of swap or credit options on selling apps in light of the news, taking money (and tax confusion) out of the equation while still letting people engage in the circular economy to keep clothes out of landfill. Alongside this, in-person swap shops may start to look more appealing for those who are after a cheap wardrobe and there could well be a rise in wardrobe clear-out sales via Instagram Stories too. So no, the circular economy won’t immediately grind to a halt, but it’s counterintuitive – to put it lightly - to go on a tax crackdown in a sector that in fact desperately needs tax cuts and incentives if it’s ever to compete with the ecocidal linear economy. Every strand of the policy feels like a step in the wrong direction.

Even for those who won’t hit the threshold and won’t financially lose out, this so-called ‘side hustle tax’ sends a strong message about the Tories’ intentions as we head into the new year: if you’re already struggling to keep your head above water, the government is all too happy to tie weights around your ankles.