03-19-2010, 11:14 AM | #16 |
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An eBook is not a "consignment"; VAT is payable on a purchase of an eBook of any price. If you buy an eBook from Mobipocket, Waterstones, BooksOnBoard, or any other site which charges VAT to EU residents, you'll pay the VAT no matter how low the value of your purchase.
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03-19-2010, 12:29 PM | #17 |
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The VAT shouldn't be that much of an issue for e-books. If you buy software online for download, there is (or used to be - haven't done so lately) a system in place where you pay VAT for downloaded software based on the billing address for the credit card you use for payment.
I used to run into this all the time because I live in France, but prefer to have my software (and my computer) speak to me in English. Back in the old days, there was one shop in Paris that stocked popular software in English version - but they used to claim that you had to show a foreign passport to buy software in any language other than French. There's no reason they couldn't set up a similar system for e-books - once they change the distribution agreements to allow publishers to distribute books based on language or some other criteria other than physical location. |
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03-19-2010, 02:14 PM | #18 |
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That's ok, I misread it as "riot at will" !!
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03-19-2010, 02:29 PM | #19 | |
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However - If you purchase ebooks from, say, an American website - where no VAT is paid - then you are under no obligation to report the purchase and pay VAT unless the payment is over £18! (*"Channel Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand") Last edited by DawnFalcon; 03-19-2010 at 02:36 PM. |
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03-19-2010, 07:33 PM | #20 | |
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03-19-2010, 07:41 PM | #21 | |
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Graham Sharp Paul is an Aussie SF author based in Melbourne (IIRC) whose publisher is Random House. I had to go through hoops to buy his book due to GR. So even if the author is an Aussie, does not mean the ebook is available for Aussies to buy easily |
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03-19-2010, 07:57 PM | #22 | |
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Is the customer *required* to pay VAT, or is the retailer required to pay it, and permitted to pass the cost along to the customer? (Also, is the customer required to pay it, or import fees, for purchases made out of the country & brought home later?) |
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03-19-2010, 08:08 PM | #23 | |
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Of course, they can choose not to "collect" the tax... but they still have to pay a percentage of taxable sales. BOb |
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03-19-2010, 10:47 PM | #24 | |
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Basically, you see one price as a consumer which includes VAT. What you see is what you pay. If you buy something from within the EU, same rules apply - VAT's been paid. If you import anything from outside (except for a few cases where treaties apply VAT), then if the item value is over a given margin VAT (over £18 in the UK) and import duty (over £130 in the UK, and if the duty is £9 or more), then you get to pay. (Plus some extras for alcohol, tobacco and so on) Of course, it's amazing how many people don't pay when they purchase and download something which costs over £18 from, say, America. Which is technically tax fraud. Last edited by DawnFalcon; 03-19-2010 at 10:53 PM. |
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03-20-2010, 12:45 AM | #25 | |
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I don't know all the ins and outs, but my initial guesses are:
• As already mentioned, there are all kinds of contractual obligations and taxation issues. • I'm not sure that purchasing and downloading an electronic item qualifies as a "parallel import." • Not many big retailers are willing to sell grey market goods anyway. • Even if it is 100% legal, it would tick off pretty much every local publisher, as they'd see their American counterparts collect revenues that normally would go to the local. E.g. if the US has wider availability and cheaper prices (due to a lack of VAT for example), Aussie and British publishers would climb the walls due to lost revenue. Quote:
I assume that once B&N starts doing ebook business abroad, they'll make all the Smashwords stuff available internationally. |
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03-20-2010, 03:23 AM | #26 |
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not ALL books are geographically restricted, according to FW it's only affects fewer than ten percent of their titles. In most cases the restrictions are for European countries or Australia, but in some cases the restrictions can be quite complicated and affect many different regions. The eBook's description page will list any restrictions.
the fact that it only affects some books/authors makes the tax argument a little superfluous. In the series by Tad Williams "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn"; books 1&2 are available for me to purchase as a UK resident, but books 3&4 are restricted geographically. [2 of the books are only available in ePub...] |
03-20-2010, 03:51 AM | #27 | |
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In Europe, goods coming in from outside the EU have to pay their VAT, which usually means that the recipient gets the bill. (There is no exemption for a "gift" - we've wound up paying VAT on gifts our American friends carefully marked as such.) In France, each incoming shipment for FedEx or UPS or any of the other big shippers is tallied up and an invoice for the VAT is sent out to the recipient. Usually arrives 3 to 5 days after the package does. Basically, that's the operating principle for how they assess the appropriate VAT on software you purchase online for download. If your credit card billing address is in France, you get hit for French VAT. There's an allowance for stuff you bring back with you from trips overseas, but it's not much. Just that they rarely check your bags unless it's patently obvious you went on a buying spree in Hong Kong or someplace known for the good shopping. Cheers, Bev |
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03-20-2010, 03:57 AM | #28 | |
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03-20-2010, 04:37 AM | #29 | |
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03-20-2010, 04:40 AM | #30 | |
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australia, geographical restriction |
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