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> Until now I did not offer any rewards for sponsorships but planned to introduce them. > VAT is due on any exchange, but not when receiving money without a co

by twiss 6y ago

> Until now I did not offer any rewards for sponsorships but planned to introduce them. > VAT is due on any exchange, but not when receiving money without a counter performance. > To make things worse, if you offer a 'digital good' for a sponsorship, for example access to a streaming a video course, many countries apply special rules for VAT handling. So, clearly GitHub sponsorships aren't meant to be used for selling stuff. If you would try to do so anyway, it would indeed likely be illegal, but I don't think it's necessarily clear that anything illegal is going on at the moment. > Because it happened to Patreon which now charges VAT. And to other digital service platforms like OnlyFans. With these services it's more directly obvious that you're getting something in return for your money. GitHub will likely claim that sponsors aren't typically getting anything in return directly, as development on the open source projects would happen to some extent regardless of each (individual) sponsor's contribution.

lathiat 6y ago
At least for some taxes Patreon allows you to specify what percentage of your pledge is for physical or digital goods versus “community” and taxes are apportioned appropriately. Though unsure if that applies to VAT.
iso1210 6y ago
> With these services it's more directly obvious that you're getting something in return for your money. Article mentions that you have to sponsor a certain amount to get 1) early access to software 2) Access to videos The second especially is a "sponsors only" feature "A few weeks later I added a new “private” group of screencasts for GitHub sponsors only."
Cu3PO42 6y ago
> So, clearly GitHub sponsorships aren't meant to be used for selling stuff. I replied the same thing in another sub-thread, but I just don't think that you can make that claim in good conscience. There are different tiers and you can specify "rewards" for each. If I give you money and you give me certain goods or services in return, you are selling me something. > GitHub will likely claim that sponsors aren't typically getting anything in return directly Even the examples they feature on https://github.com/sponsors https://github.com/sponsors do give something in return. OpenSSL has a tier (at $400/mo) that will feature your name or your company's name on their website in a sponsorship section. Depending on your jurisdiction VAT may already apply to this.

by twiss 6y ago

lathiat 6y ago

At least for some taxes Patreon allows you to specify what percentage of your pledge is for physical or digital goods versus “community” and taxes are apportioned appropriately. Though unsure if that applies to VAT.

iso1210 6y ago

> With these services it's more directly obvious that you're getting something in return for your money. Article mentions that you have to sponsor a certain amount to get 1) early access to software 2) Access to videos The second especially is a "sponsors only" feature "A few weeks later I added a new “private” group of screencasts for GitHub sponsors only."

Cu3PO42 6y ago

> So, clearly GitHub sponsorships aren't meant to be used for selling stuff. I replied the same thing in another sub-thread, but I just don't think that you can make that claim in good conscience. There are different tiers and you can specify "rewards" for each. If I give you money and you give me certain goods or services in return, you are selling me something. > GitHub will likely claim that sponsors aren't typically getting anything in return directly Even the examples they feature on https://github.com/sponsors https://github.com/sponsors do give something in return. OpenSSL has a tier (at $400/mo) that will feature your name or your company's name on their website in a sponsorship section. Depending on your jurisdiction VAT may already apply to this.