VAT on electronically supplied services to EU consumers : A practical compliance guide for cross-border suppliers of digital goods and services

Description
The book is the only one of its kind in the market today that is dedicated to the VAT practice and policy releavant for suppliers of digital goods and services to EU consumers. The book covers both the current VAT compliance rules wihich were introduced in 2003 and the new rules which will go into effect in 2015. These rules differ depending on where the supplier is established for VAT purposes The book is more than just a technical summary of the relevant EU legislation in this area that is typically found in the legal reference book market. For over a decade, Minor was a senior executive of one of the first major US internet companies to have created a significant customer base in the EU market before and after the harmonized VAT rules on digital goods and services were introduced in 2003. He designed, implemented and managed a pan-European supply platform which the AOL business division, a member of the Time Warner group, set up in Luxembourg. The book has been written to appeal to a diverse group of professionals interested in both the technical detail of the compliance rules and the policy evolution of VAT taxation on digital goods and services: VAT consultants, in-house tax departments, tax auditors, government policymakers, EU courts, and universities. The topics which the book covers are not analyzed elsewhere in public today. Some of these topics include, the very controversial topic of reduced rates for digital goods (e.books), the evolution of the relevant tax policy, the compliance rules for EU and non-EU suppliers alike, both before and after the 2015 change in rules, what businesses should expect when audited, the establishment principle, and the general VAT principles relevant to e-commerce businesses. According to Minor, he made a conscious decision to publish the first edition of the guide two years before the 2015 change in VAT law. At the time this first edition was published, there was enough EU legislation proposed for companies to consider their VAT compliance options before and after the change in the VAT rueles in 2015, as a siginificant amount of lead time is necessary to meet the new compliance requirements. This book contains the information and inisghts to do that. It also covers in depth the current VAT compliance rules which have been in place since 2003 and which will be relevant beyond 2015 to the extent pre-2015 audit years are still open