Other Software > Developer's Corner
New EU VAT rules change the game for digital businesses
dr_andus:
^ I don't even see *how* it will work. If I sell a digital download to someone in the EU... how would they even go after me?
-wraith808 (November 20, 2014, 10:57 AM)
--- End quote ---
From my perspective, as a consumer based in the EU, things have already worked like this for some time. Most payment-processing services have already been charging me for my local VAT (when I purchased a piece of software outside the EU).
So this is probably more of an issue for the less-informed or less compliant payment services that haven't been doing that yet, rather than for individual vendors. For non-EU vendors this just means that you better check with your payment processing service to make sure they do this.
wraith808:
^ I don't even see *how* it will work. If I sell a digital download to someone in the EU... how would they even go after me?
-wraith808 (November 20, 2014, 10:57 AM)
--- End quote ---
From my perspective, as a consumer based in the EU, things have already worked like this for some time. Most payment-processing services have already been charging me for my local VAT.
So this is probably more of an issue for the less-informed or less compliant payment services that haven't been doing that yet, rather than for individual vendors. For non-EU vendors this just means that you better check with your payment processing service to make sure they do this.
-dr_andus (November 20, 2014, 12:00 PM)
--- End quote ---
Most that are not part of an aggregation type service for payment have decidedly *not* been doing it. And that onus should not be placed on someone that is in a different country doing business *just because* their place of receipt is in the EU, IMO.
dr_andus:
re not part of an aggregation type service for payment have decidedly *not* been doing it.
-wraith808 (November 20, 2014, 12:06 PM)
--- End quote ---
I didn't say they were. I said *most that I've bought from in recent years.* In the early years of the Internet I could happily pay in USD and get the same deal with no taxes as the US customer. But in recent times many payment services would identify me as an EU shopper and would automatically apply the VAT—I can only presume it was due to pressure to comply with the local EU country legislation.
as for how would they even go after me?
-wraith808 (November 20, 2014, 12:06 PM)
--- End quote ---
there would be an electronic payment trail linking the seller and the buyer, so it's just a question of access to the payment data + plus the right software and processing power to figure that out that an export/import transaction had taken place across the EU's borders.
tomos:
re not part of an aggregation type service for payment have decidedly *not* been doing it.
-wraith808 (November 20, 2014, 12:06 PM)
--- End quote ---
I didn't say they were. I said *most that I've bought from in recent years.* In the early years of the Internet I could happily pay in USD and get the same deal with no taxes as the US customer. But in recent times many payment services would identify me as an EU shopper and would automatically apply the VAT—I can only presume it was due to pressure to comply with the local EU country legislation.-dr_andus (November 20, 2014, 02:27 PM)
--- End quote ---
yeah, that's been my experience as well for a good few years now.
as for how would they even go after me?
-wraith808 (November 20, 2014, 12:06 PM)
--- End quote ---
there would be an electronic payment trail linking the seller and the buyer, so it's just a question of access to the payment data + plus the right software and processing power to figure that out that an export/import transaction had taken place across the EU's borders.
-dr_andus (November 20, 2014, 02:27 PM)
--- End quote ---
not sure what exactly wraith meant, but the big question is how the EU would stop (or punish) a supplier from outside the EU selling without VAT (?)
wraith808:
not sure what exactly wraith meant, but the big question is how the EU would stop (or punish) a supplier from outside the EU selling without VAT (?)
-tomos (November 20, 2014, 02:43 PM)
--- End quote ---
I meant, if I as a US citizen sold a digital item, and someone in the EU purchased it and downloaded it- then how would they enforce the strictures of these rules against me as a US citizen?
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version