VATMOSS

[drplokta]

For the benefit of the EU, here's how taxing things that are both sold and delivered over the Internet works.

Can we tax them based on the location of the vendor? No, because vendors will simply relocate to a jurisdiction that doesn't tax such transactions (e.g. Amazon in Luxembourg).

Can we tax them based on the location of the purchaser? No, because we never discover the purchaser's location during the process of sale and delivery.

Can we tax them based on the location of the purchaser's IP address? No, because the purchaser can choose to use a proxy or VPN in a jurisdiction that doesn't tax such transactions.

Can we tax them based on the location of the purchaser's payment account? No, because the purchaser can open an account in a jurisdiction that doesn't tax such transactions.

Can we tax them based on the purchaser's self-declared location? No, because the purchaser can lie.

Is there any other way to determine the purchaser's location? Not as far as I know.

Can we harmonise tax rates for any of the above across 194 different countries? Ha ha ha ha ha.

Therefore, such transactions can't be taxed at all, and the EU should simply give up trying, and only tax things that can be unambiguously located within a single taxation jurisdiction.

Comments

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Even if it does, the fact that the sales threshold for reporting is zero -- that is, any sale of any sort is taxable -- is absurd. It's going to impose overhead accounting costs on very small businesses that are such that the most economical thing they can do is shut down.

The UK threshold for goods sales (GBP81,000) is fairly generous, but even the most-common EU threshold of EUR35,000 would be more sensible than zero.

[andrewducker]

I entirely agree.