Posts about the EU Place of Supply Reforms (aka #VATMOSS, aka #EUVAT, aka the #VATMESS), and its impact on web professionals.
Today the European Commission has announced a raft of proposed reforms to the VATMOSS system.
I wrote for AccountingWeb: http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tax/business-tax/palpable-anger-at-vat-moss-consultation
The joy of what happens when a digital item is sold as part of a larger package containing offline services.
(TL;dr) VAT is due on crowdfunding within the EU. Probably.
The adult industry is yet another sector which is struggling to get to grips with VATMOSS, and performers are literally paying the price.
Given the data protection obligations that VATMOSS placed on sellers, learning that their own data can be sent anywhere in Europe because of a tax authority’s mistake has been a rich irony.
Today there have been a number of tweets from UK-based microtraders and businesses who have received what appear to be legitimate – and massive – VATMOSS invoices from the Irish Revenue.
Here is everything that is wrong with VATMOSS in one image, as tweeted by Ysolda Teague.
I’m back from WordCamp Europe in Seville, Spain, where I asked my audience “How many of you have heard of VATMOSS?” and about 25% of the crowd put their hands up. I then said “How many of you haven’t heard of VATMOSS?” and about 20% of the crowd put their hands up. The other 55% were too hot to move.
Read postHMRC extends #VATMOSS payment provider concession indefinitely
The EU’s Digital Single Market strategy announced a legislative assault on geoblocking, the process of restricting access to online content based on a user’s physical location.
The guiding principle of my work is this quote:
Today the EU has announced its Single Digital Market Strategy for Europe (.pdf, 360kb), a long-term project formulated around the three pillars of market access, environment, and economy & society.
As expected, the strategy acknowledges the problems caused by the lack of proper due diligence in implementing the EU Place of Supply reforms (#VATMOSS), for which we owe the hardworking team at the EU Vat Action group complete and sole credit.
The Strategy’s plans for #VATMOSS, and for general VAT issues, are as follows:
In February I published a post setting out the implications of Patreon’s refusal to comply with #VATMOSS. I didn’t set out to hit a nerve, but a week later it went viral. At one point it was getting 1000 visits every five minutes. I’d never seen anything like it.
It now appears that Patreon have caved in to public pressure. On 4 March they published this announcement:
Creators and patrons! I’m Chelsea with Ops at Patreon. I am working on our VAT research and solution. Thank you, again, for your patience. Here’s a quick VAT update: Good news! Patreon will handle the collection, filing, and remittance of VAT payments on behalf of our creators. The cost of VAT will be carried by EU patrons. As always, thank you for your patience and feedback. Patreon has your #vatmess covered so you can do what you do best: create.
Pardon me if I am not swooning with grateful admiration at Patreon’s change of heart.
This happened today.
HMRC has withdrawn the section in VAT notes 1 2015 on #VATMOSS scheme because of errors.
— Haines Watts VAT (@HainesWattsVAT) March 5, 2015
VAT Notes 2015 Issue 1 now says nothing about VATMOSS at all.
Thanks to Google Cache I have been able to pull up the text that HMRC deleted due to “errors”:
Interesting stuff this. The deadline for MOSS registrations for European e-commerce sales made after 1 January was the 10th of February, a fortnight ago. Here is the result of that deadline:
Update 12 March: Patreon has caved in and agreed to comply with VATMOSS.
Last month I wrote about Patreon’s rather creative interpretation of the VATMOSS rules. At the time, I replied to their email with a far clearer and more accurate explanation of how VATMOSS works than they had apparently received from their clueless consultants at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Sadly, Patreon have now confirmed that they will not be fulfilling their obligations as a third party provider. (Note: Patreon’s taxes page has gone offline – what a coincidence – but here’s what it said.) People who use Patreon as creators to share digital output within the EU will be personally responsible for calculating and processing VATMOSS taxes for each and every patron.
Read postPatreon to Europe on #VATMOSS: “Not our problem, mate.”
Trigger warning: repeatedly banging head into desk
I received this letter in the post, unsolicited, from the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills. It’s about #VATMOSS.
I have been kicking the tyres, so to speak, of Patreon – the US-based creative sponsorship platform – as a means of getting paid for my web law writing and research.
Read post#VATMOSS: “Place of service” is not “place of supply”
Over the weekend I read all of the EU and UK legal texts, background documents, and supporting resources on the imminent EU VAT “Place of Supply” changes, colloquially known as #VATMOSS or #VATMESS.
My conclusion is that this is the end of small enterprise and self-employment.
Read postHow #VATMOSS is the end of small enterprise in Britain – and how we can change it