Friday, December 31, 2010

Paying Tax for SKype Service

If you use only the free features of Skype, you need not pay any taxes.
Period.
However, if you are a subscriber to one or more of Skype’s fee-based services, you might be obligated to pay taxes. Subscribers whose billing address is in a country that is a member of the European Union will be charged Value Added Tax (VAT) when they purchase services. But subscribers elsewhere, including the United States, will not be charged any taxes. This, however, does not necessarily mean you don’t owe taxes on payments for those services!
In the United States a form of tax called the Sales & Use tax is levied at the state level, and sometimes the local level, on goods and services you purchase outside of your home state. If such a tax is not collected by the seller, then you—the buyer—are required by law to pay it. This is a complex issue beyond the scope of this book, and so you should check with your local tax authority or seek professional tax advice regarding the rules for making Skype purchases.
If you subscribe to Skype’s fee-based services and live somewhere other than the European Union or the United States, you will need to determine the tax status of Skype purchases for yourself by checking with the tax authorities for your jurisdiction.

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