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While the effort in general should be appreciated (especially open sourcing the code!), I'm doubtful that the REST API has practical use. "I calculated the VAT

While the effort in general should be appreciated (especially open sourcing the code!), I'm doubtful that the REST API has practical use. "I calculated the VAT for the products I'm selling using that one website" is just too much of a liability risk for a business to take. Who do you hold liable in the event that the calculation was wrong?

mherrmann 10y ago
The data for the API comes from the most widely used open source library on the subject [1]. It has 418 stars, is used by lots of people and is continually receiving pull requests / input from users. I bet you that it is not easy to find another entity (be it a person, an organisation or a piece of software) that knows as much about the problem. Of course, you are right about liability. You can sue your accountant. But I assume it will be more difficult for an open source project. [1]: https://github.com/mpociot/vat-calculator https://github.com/mpociot/vat-calculator
- ckastner 10y ago
  That's the problem: even with top-notch data, unless you continuously audit the source code, you're still blindly trusting a third-party website regarding tax advice. In the event that something goes wrong, that could be construed as negligent. Hence why I appreciate that yours and the other project are open source! Because even though I might not be able to use the REST API, I can certainly download the code and integrate locally after auditing it, or having it audited by my accountant, or tax attorney, or whatever.
return0 10y ago
If i understand correctly, you have to do take into account the different VATs, and also, if you cross some limits you need to register for VAT in the customer's country. There's a startup (http://www.taxdoo.com/docs/en/ http://www.taxdoo.com/docs/en/) that wants to deal with this mess. In my case, i use an american company to handle virtual goods to avoid this brainteaser.

mherrmann 10y ago

The data for the API comes from the most widely used open source library on the subject [1]. It has 418 stars, is used by lots of people and is continually receiving pull requests / input from users. I bet you that it is not easy to find another entity (be it a person, an organisation or a piece of software) that knows as much about the problem. Of course, you are right about liability. You can sue your accountant. But I assume it will be more difficult for an open source project. [1]: https://github.com/mpociot/vat-calculator https://github.com/mpociot/vat-calculator

ckastner 10y ago
That's the problem: even with top-notch data, unless you continuously audit the source code, you're still blindly trusting a third-party website regarding tax advice. In the event that something goes wrong, that could be construed as negligent. Hence why I appreciate that yours and the other project are open source! Because even though I might not be able to use the REST API, I can certainly download the code and integrate locally after auditing it, or having it audited by my accountant, or tax attorney, or whatever.

return0 10y ago

If i understand correctly, you have to do take into account the different VATs, and also, if you cross some limits you need to register for VAT in the customer's country. There's a startup (http://www.taxdoo.com/docs/en/ http://www.taxdoo.com/docs/en/) that wants to deal with this mess. In my case, i use an american company to handle virtual goods to avoid this brainteaser.