MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: Fruitcocktail on October 16, 2018, 00:43
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I apologize if this has already been discussed. I wasn't able to find it if it has been. Recently in Wayfair vs South Dakota a court ruling declared that small businesses will now need to collect sales tax from internet sales via the purchaser.
You can read more about that here:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kpmg/2018/08/13/what-the-new-sales-tax-ruling-means-for-online-retailers/#2d922ee229d7 (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kpmg/2018/08/13/what-the-new-sales-tax-ruling-means-for-online-retailers/#2d922ee229d7)
I'm a bit confused about how this will affect micro stock sellers. Can anyone weigh in on this? I can't even begin to image how to report my sales when I do taxes and sort each small .33 cent sale by location. How will this work? Do we even qualify???
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I'd say don't panic its down to the agency to sort these issues out as we don't sell direct to the customer
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I'd say don't panic its down to the agency to sort these issues out as we don't sell direct to the customer
Right again, we don't make the sales. We allow the agencies to license images to customers for a fee. Unless you have a site selling direct don't worry about it (I closed my own direct sales site when the EU pulled the same thing).
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Laws on sales tax in the US vary by state, but for Washington State, where I live, licensing the use of photographs is explicitly not subject to sales tax (https://dor.wa.gov/doing-business/business-types/industry-guides/photography-tax-guide/licensing-photographs).
For licenses sold through agencies, that's their concern, not ours. For sales from your own site it would be for the states whose rules require it - and the real burden is figuring out 50 sets of rules and future changes in them. VAT rules in the EU aren't quite the same as for sales taxes in the US, but in that case I put a notice on my site apologizing that I could not sell to EU customers because I didn't handle VAT.
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the real burden is figuring out 50 sets of rules and future changes in them
Which brings forth a political/rethorical question.
Do we really need different tax regulations for every state? The same is true - and even worse - for Europe. The same taxation for every state of the USA, and every state of the EU, would not only make things a lot easier but also much more difficult to legally evade taxes through loopholes.
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the real burden is figuring out 50 sets of rules and future changes in them
Which brings forth a political/rethorical question.
Do we really need different tax regulations for every state? The same is true - and even worse - for Europe. The same taxation for every state of the USA, and every state of the EU, would not only make things a lot easier but also much more difficult to legally evade taxes through loopholes.
Not only states but counties within those states. Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no sales tax. Some states have no income tax, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming, and they make up the money with sales tax. Maybe I should move to Alaska?
Nevada has no state income tax, which means that all retirement income is tax-free at the state level. It also has relatively low property taxes, while the state sales tax is somewhat higher than average. Groceries and prescription drugs are exempt from the Nevada sales tax. How do you get all the states to agree to have the same taxe system and rates, when they are all different areas and populations?
I hope this state tax collecting is for business over a size, because it's impossible for an individual to know every state, county and city tax laws for the whole country.