Going from 50% to 40% is a 20% reduction in the commission you will earn.
Going from 100% to 90% would be a 10% reduction.
I remember when they promised us that they would never cut our commission again after going from 60% to 50% (a 17% cut).
It's old math...or the "new math" I learned in the 1960's LOL...which is now old math...

Sorry, Uncle Pete, just giving you a hard time, but the real point is that it is a bigger cut than it first appears.

I didn't mind so much when they first posted about their charities, since the charity was the impetus for the stock site to begin with. But after looking at the loss they wrote off last year in their Annual Statement, I'm not sure I believe they needed to cut commissions to improve operational costs. They said that earnings are flat, so the cut gives them 20% more revenue to work with. Seeing them pay dividends to their directors, write off a huge loan, and then brag about how charitable they are, without any info on just how they are going to improve operations, well, it certainly rankles.

Apologies to Shady Sue I somehow missed that your explanation and mine were nearly identical.

Yeah but I deserve it?  Because I was differentiating earnings, income and money vs commission rate.

I do understand, I'm just pointing out that 10% of one, may be 20% of something else, but they aren't the same.

Everyone have fun. I'm done for now, until some agency issues another cut, which will happen, and we can go over the math again.

Quote from: ShadySue on October 22, 2019, 13:24

Quote from: Uncle Pete on October 22, 2019, 13:20

Quote from: ShadySue on October 22, 2019, 13:14

Quote from: Uncle Pete on October 22, 2019, 12:51

When did they cut the commission 20% in the last few months. What did I miss?

I'm still getting 50% on exclusive and 40% on non-exclusive? I was getting 50% since about 2010 if I remember right? That's 10%

Personally I don't care about their charity or board, I'm only interested in what I make.

10 is 20% of 50.
So each indie file sold earns you 20% less that it would have had it been 50%

Oh that modern math again where a 10% cut is a 20% cut? The post should have said, 20% loss in potential earnings then, not 20% cut?

Changing commission from 50% to 40% is a 10% reduction in commission, no matter how anyone wants to slice it.

Quote from: Pauws99 on October 21, 2019, 03:29

Blowing on about your charity generosity a few months after cutting commissions by 20% is not a good look.

Note, it uses the word commissions, not income or earnings?

And no I still don't care about their charity, I care about what they pay me! Selfish, aren't I?

Semantics aside*, you are still being paid 20% less on your non-exclusive files, and that's all you care about.

*and no matter how you look at it, it's still a 20% reduction in commission.
If they went from 100% to 90%, that would be a 10% cut.
50% > 40% is a 20% cut.

And what is it from 60% to 40%? I'm trying to grasp at a bold number like 20% but I suppose that's wrong.

From 60% to 40% that would be a reduction of 33.3333...% in potential earnings 

.

I claim DACS directly. It was direct deposited to my bank about 2 weeks ago. I read on the Alamy forum that DACS is sending them out in batches. Funny that I got mine in the US before several people from the UK. It could be alphabetical (my last name starts with C). Anyway, I'd guess you will receive yours very soon.

I also just got the forms showing the UK tax withheld along with the (free) form from HMS Revenue that I'd need to claim the tax back. Unfortunately, the IRS charges $85 for the form on this end. Ah well, a little more toward foreign aid to India...can't complain about helping those in need. Looking at it that way makes it less annoying for me that I'm paying foreign taxes I can't write off or get back.

I don't think that anyone was UK-bashing ... I think he was saying that those from the UK were already helping out India... at least that's how I took it. 0.7% of GDP has to be a big number �-wise

And I totally agree, I don't begrudge the charities, but the huge loan write off to the video company and the large dividends to directors when they are cutting our commissions on already deteriorating sales numbers, plus their refusal to require new clients to pay up front, leading to so many uncollected commissions, or the failure to investigate all these bogus personal use licenses, that I do begrudge.

@Brasilnut, sorry if I misunderstood your meaning.

No worries

There seems to be some confusion on the difference between percentages and percentage points. If a commission rate is 40% and that is then cut to zero what has happened is that commission has been cut by 40 percentage points, which in this case is  100%.  If the rate was cut from 100% (i.e the agency hands all the cash over) to  60%, that would still be a cut of 40 percentage points but would also be a 40% cut.
To look at it from another perspective, if your commission was cut from 40% to zero, would you complain that you had suffered a 40% cut in earnings? I don't think so!
I hope that clears up the confusion.

As for Alamy, I'd rather that they hadn't cut the commissions but at the same time I have always been happy that the profit they make goes into cancer research rather than into lining the pockets of billionaire venture capitalists who are eternally looking for more and more sneaky ways to screw us (yes, you know who they are, and you probably STILL supply them). I'm sorry if that doesn't fit in with the general view here.

Harmaceutical companies fund most research, so 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. The money is still passing through billionaire capitalists.

I'm paying foreign taxes I can't write off or get back.

I think there is a place to claim foreign taxes paid, so you should be able to get it back.  I'm pretty sure that's what I do (would have to confirm with my accountant to be sure).

Quote from: sgoodwin4813 on December 10, 2019, 21:17

Quote from: wordplanet on October 23, 2019, 16:20

I'm paying foreign taxes I can't write off or get back.

I think there is a place to claim foreign taxes paid, so you should be able to get it back.  I'm pretty sure that's what I do (would have to confirm with my accountant to be sure).

Since I don't know where Wordplanet is, I'll just answer for myself in the USA. I get a deduction and credit for VAT (for example) or any other foreign taxes. And I should include that my accountant does the work, I just give her the zipper bag full of everything and she's the brains.

Yes, I get it back, without filing some long form to claim it back, by credits on my US taxes.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-tax-credit

Hi - I'm in New York.

The IRS form would enable me to have DACS actually pay the full DACS sum to me rather than withholding a portion for HMS Revenue. The taxes withheld are less than the $85 it would cost me to get them back, since my DACS payout is in the low $$$. Since I am not actually receiving that money, I cannot take it as a deduction on my income tax, since it isn't income. Just like you can't deduct lost earnings. But thanks for trying to help. DACS sent me a completed HMS Revenue form for free. I believe they withhold about 20% which is lower than my tax bracket, so I guess I'm not really losing out.