VAT: Estate to be broken up, SIMS going cheap

I do. However, you're right that its impossible for me to know with general sales of linden-based work, where someone is from. So what actually ends up happening is that I have to charge people MORE, not less, no matter where they're from.

But for transactions that occur outside SL, with Euro customers, I sure as heck do know where they're from, and I do charge VAT. No get out of jail free card.

For EU based land barons charging via Paypal, its a simple matter of charging EU Paypal accounts VAT, if they want to account for it. However, doubt that's going to happen.

So how does you charging more as a result of VAT provide more favourable market conditions, as you suggested earlier?



I really hope you know what you are doing Hypatia. If you are in the UK, or if not, if your VATman is anything like that in the UK, you need your accounting to be spot on to the penny - and all associated paperwork to be so too. In general, it's not wise to register for VAT unless you really have to, and so most businesses under the threshold opt not to.

Indeed, as long as rock has been declaring his income then nothing to stop him setting up a business ( assuming he hasn't already ) and thus claiming the VAT back.

you're really good at misreading. My charging for content services and the land baron biz are different things.



No way do I do these things myself.

I use a professional accountant. My command of German is not fluent enough to do these things myself - but I sure as heck know what my accountant has said for me to do, and the OP said he was being charged German VAT - you have to account for the VAT yourself via self-reporting if you are a business in Germany. Which means I have to provide LL my VAT ID, because it goes under my taxes. Otherwise I might be paying it twice - once to LL, and again to the government on my quarterly return. I only pay VAT on invoice for supplies if the company is in Germany, and 3d graphics and design is part of my business.

It really should not be hard to understand.

You're very good at confusing. Other than the fact you're already registered for VAT as a result of your business outside of SL, I don't understand the relevance of it when discussing VAT in SL.

Edit to add: or the relevance of your content providing content in SL when we are discussing the consequences of VAT on the rental market.



Good move; a good accountant is worth his/her weight in gold, assuming the business is sufficiently successful to warrant one.



On that we agree, it shouldn't.

all this vat talk makes my brain go to mush

I guess the real problem (as I understand from my UK Accountant), is that I have to be selling goods that are VAT-charged to my customers of a reasonable proportion of the VAT I claim back/exempt from. If anyone is wanting to have SL as their only business, or if they are fully employed elsewhere, and have their SL 'business' as a secondary interest, they CANNOT have their land rentals, etc VAT charged to their customers, because L$ transactions aren't chargeable. therefore they CANNOT register for VAT exemption/claw-back because the only business (SL) doesn't have the equivalent VAT costs on what we are charging.

Sigh.

I think i'll be able to keep going for a time because of sme RL money coming in..... maybe by the time it bites again, i'll have enough separate SL income to cover the VAT costs..... or not...

Yours,


Ann-Marie

yeah, this is a bigger problem for people who are having large land tiers. I got rid of my land tier 10 months ago, so no more of that. So the only thing that I have that's VAT-able is my premium account, and that's really nothing.

Actually, LL could possibly solve it immediately by allowing people to pay their tiers in Lindens. Would be interesting to see that play out (though I seriously doubt it will happen, who knows though)

At the end of the day, I think as more and more of these sorts of worlds come up, the tax authorities will have to face the facts that regressive taxation is just putting other countries in the advantage for trade in them, and the lack of competitiveness will more than offset any tax they might have collected.

I was under the impression that you had to have a business that did over £60k per annum or similar figure to be able to have a VAT number and offset VAT. While many ppl decare any profit from SL on their annual tax assessment does it now mean they will be able to claim this VAT charge back if they have no VAT number?

If you turnover £60k or more, then you have to register for VAT, but you can register with less if you want to.

VAT registration is also voluntary. If your business makes more than the threshold, you MUST register, there is no other option.

I won't go into my RL reasons, I will just say, we needed to register back when SL was a twinkle in Philip's eye, and that's that.

Not quite - in the UK (I can't speak for other EU countries) - if your turnover is more that £65K (or thereabouts) you HAVE to be VAT registered. Below £65K you do not HAVE to be VAT registered, but you CAN VAT register if you wish.

If you do VAT register you have to do your VAT returns which is quite burdensome, plus you risk fines or close scrutiny if you make mistakes - most would advise getting an accountant to deal with it for you. As such for a small business, the overhead in either time or hiring an accountant is probably more than any gain, so most people do not VAT register until the business grows large enough that it is mandatory to register.

Most people in SL will not be making the sort of profits which make it worthwhile to register and many are just covering some of their costs rather than making any profit, so unless you have your own business or are self employed (so have an accountant anyway) and can claim SL expenses against that business, VAT registration is really not an option.

Matthew

Rock, I'm really sorry to see you have to shut down. That was a great build! And you were a great guy to be associated with, though only briefly and only over the Sheepbot situation. Glad you're haning on to one sim and will still be around SL. Ciao!

Thanks for that Har. I put heart and soul into those builds, so of course it tears me up to have to sell, to someone who may just decide to cover the land in ad-farms.

I will linger on, until the alternative (and of course, before I go, the mother of ALL yard sales).

Keep the faith,


Rock

I'm puzzled. If you got rid of all your land 10 mths ago why oh why would you want premium membership? Puhlease don't say for the support or the stipends.