AlexRag wrote: So as I buyer outside Europe and thus not subjected to the VAT we should be expecting an increase of the core pricing? Is that the correct understanding?
1. Generally speaking: It is likely to happen for a part of other e-services sites which can't account for various VATs at displayed prices and/or in their cart.
2. If you ask about us, for this site:
- We do not plan to, nor want to, charge #EUVAT-related costs to non-EU customers, even though we already incurred time lost because of #EUVAT (and this lost time affected my own development time). However some general adjustments in our offerings may happen in 2015 in relation with, or triggered by, addressing #EUVAT.
- For EU customers, an increase is unfortunately very possible, as well as readjustments in our offerings available to EU customers until the EU Commission fixes the issues of this new regulations that have been shown, so that it can be properly implemented.
Back to general:
If enough people understand that each voice (tweets, FBs, mails) counts, all together, we can improve the world (or in this case avoid it to go worse), things should go fine for everyone.
But if the example set by EU goes through without enough complaints to stop it, other countries might implement similar bad schemes (and as far as the information I read on #EUVAT channels is correct, US government as well as Japan and other governments might "fight back" EU with similar Sales-Tax schemes. Those who would loose in such a case would be users of E-services, as in the end effect, someone is paying for all that burden. And many small entrepreneurs and future entrepreneurs will just stop or not even start, as this increases the cost and burden to start and conduct a startup business. Just search Twitter for #EUVAT to understand how people are affected by this.
Wrongly implemented taxes have been successfully stopped or fixed when enough people protests in the past (e.g. Poll Tax in U.K.), I have some hopes that this could be the next one.
Pepperstreet,
You are sure right, but unfortunately, most of those payment providers will not be ready for 1.1.2015 or have not even communicated plans to address #EUVAT.
Back to more interesting CB work