The EU VAT Action Group is still plugging away at sorting out the mess of what is commonly called #vatmoss.
We’ve written about it before, but to recap in brief: since 1st January, if you sell digital products that are automatically delivered within the EU (we could be talking music, software, knitting patterns or ebooks) then the VAT payable isn’t levied at the rate of the seller but the buyer. Most significantly there is no lower threshold: the moment you sell even a penny’s worth of digital download, you’re liable.
It’s a bureaucratic nightmare. As a seller, you must provide proof of the location of the buyer. You need to file VAT returns to all member states that you’ve sold to too. The dashboard built, the MOSS (mini one stop shop) is a shoddy bit of work and you can be pursued by individual member states’ tax authorities too (despite a promise that such demands would come through HMRC). Some sellers have already had letters from the Irish tax authority.
Yup, it’s a mess.
Clare Josa of the EU Vat Acton team, and colleagues, met yesterday with David Gaukes MP, Treasury Minister, to once again make the case. We hope it went well. She published this video before the meeting.
Now, obviously the meeting has passed and we’ll hopefully get an update soon. But if you’re impacted, it’s still a good idea to pester your MP and MEP to make sure they are up to speed on the issue.
