VAT coming to apps and digital downloads :(

asim18 · 23 Mar 2014 at 20:48

lolgovernment.

Are they honestly forgetting all the other tax safe havens they've set up for multinational conglomerates or are they just trying to pull the wool over your eyes by saying they're going to start VATing digital downloads?

Surely if you want to tackle this you need to stop the Starbucks et al from emptying their tills directly into an offshore bank account and not simply add a mere consumer tax to digital downloads (which has nothing to do with anything anyway).

MrMoonX · 23 Mar 2014 at 20:51

It's not just companies avoiding tax as Vat is paid for by consumer, this is only going to hurt consumers not businesses

But yet they still don't do anything about their fatcat party funders with offshore everything

Pawnless Endgame · 23 Mar 2014 at 20:51

Rofflay said:
People pay for apps? shocking

Sure most are freebies / ad-supported, but I have bought a couple myself. One was to customise the notification LED and the other was a 3rd-party keyboard. Paid around 99p a pop.

Dolph · 23 Mar 2014 at 20:54

Given the position of the OP on government spending I find his tax objections incredibly hypocritical. I guess you really are someone who wants to get the government to spend more of other people's money...

MrMoonX · 23 Mar 2014 at 21:22

Dolph said:
Given the position of the OP on government spending I find his tax objections incredibly hypocritical. I guess you really are someone who wants to get the government to spend more of other people's money...

No I'd like the government to stop letting poor and sick people die whilst letting their rich mates off on massive tax bills and get big public sector contracts, all for a party donation it seems

Anyway this is about VAT on non-physical items, which really shouldn't be happening

Eurofighter · 23 Mar 2014 at 21:28

Good idea. I can't think why apps should be exempt from tax.

asim18 · 23 Mar 2014 at 21:38

MrMoonX said:
No I'd like the government to stop letting poor and sick people die whilst letting their rich mates off on massive tax bills and get big public sector contracts, all for a party donation it seems

Anyway this is about VAT on non-physical items, which really shouldn't be happening

I agree.

VAT on a tangible physical object of value? Fine no problem.

VAT on an end-user license to use a piece of digital non-transferable non-valuable software code? No thanks but OK.

VAT on digital end-user licenses and then somehow brainwashing the public into thinking "we're tackling corps who dont pay tax"? GTFO NOW :mad:

This has nothing to do with collecting tax monies from tax avoiding corps. This has everything to do with collecting tax monies from the citizens so they can offset the tax avoided by the corps. Some people are so blinded.

Pawnless Endgame · 23 Mar 2014 at 21:45

MrMoonX said:
Anyway this is about VAT on non-physical items, which really shouldn't be happening

I'm sitting on the fence with this debate, but here's a thought - will this affect Steam purchases? What about a shareware game that costs $15 to register? What about a £20 Amazon gift code? They're all non-physical as well.

Mynight · 23 Mar 2014 at 21:45

It will most likly stay at 69p but I bet apple will cut the percentage paid to developers to compensate

LordSplodge · 23 Mar 2014 at 21:47

Raymond Lin said:
It's not going to be a 73.4p app, you know it'll be 79p though.

Aren't the cheapest apps already 79p?

Glaucus said:
So the chance of it stepping up like that is slim. It's not like other markets with competition. Each ecosystem is a monopoly as they aren't cross platform capable.

I think you'll find with Apple, Google, Microsoft all competing it's hardly a monopoly.

My OS X applications don't work on Windows neither.

Glaucus said:
They can charge what ever they want now, they don't need an excuse its a total monopoly as it is, so you have no choice anyway to shop elsewhere.

There's been a distinct race-to-the-bottom pricing structure in the various App stores. This isn't healthy and is the exact opposite of your "charge what they want" fallacy.

As for now choice? I suppose those going from Apple to Google or Google to Apple had not choice, did they. :confused:

As for the actual subject of this thread; makes sense to set a VAT amount on digital downloads. They need to be careful not to stifle creative industries that may start up in the UK though.

Participant · 23 Mar 2014 at 21:47

MrMoonX said:
No I'd like the government to stop letting poor and sick people die whilst letting their rich mates off on massive tax bills and get big public sector contracts, all for a party donation it seems

Anyway this is about VAT on non-physical items, which really shouldn't be happening

Ironically it's the service providers in the UK that tend to be the really rich ones, as opposed to most of the entities that trade a physical product, so you have unwittingly with one breath criticised rich people getting off on massive tax bills, and with the other breath espoused it.

Dark Light · 23 Mar 2014 at 21:58

Don't we already pay VAT on Steam?

dasyad · 23 Mar 2014 at 21:59

Glaucus said:
If anything it's like to stay at 69p, they're priced at certain levels for a reason. Same reason things are priced at 99p rather than at whole pounds, psychologically we think its cheaper. .

Surely no one falls for that old trick? It's like all those adverts on TV "less than two hundred pounds" and then you see the price is £199. It's utterly stupid I can't imagine anyone sane rushing out to buy an item just because it's a penny under some sort of threshold.

areksnumbr1sxylady · 23 Mar 2014 at 22:06

I think 75% VAT would be a smarter move.

Dolph · 23 Mar 2014 at 22:13

MrMoonX said:
No I'd like the government to stop letting poor and sick people die whilst letting their rich mates off on massive tax bills and get big public sector contracts, all for a party donation it seems

Anyway this is about VAT on non-physical items, which really shouldn't be happening

Vat is charged on all sorts or non physical purchases such as services, so that stance makes no sense. The rest is just the predictable rant about the government not getting enough of other people's money for your liking...

StriderX · 23 Mar 2014 at 22:14

So if i buy something from Amazon US with a taxless address...will this affect that?

Energize · 23 Mar 2014 at 22:14

Thank god it's so easy to evade VAT on digital goods.

asim18 · 23 Mar 2014 at 22:21

dasyad said:
Surely no one falls for that old trick? It's like all those adverts on TV "less than two hundred pounds" and then you see the price is £199. It's utterly stupid I can't imagine anyone sane rushing out to buy an item just because it's a penny under some sort of threshold.

I'm thinking the same.

I don't ever see 99p, I always see it as, and refer to it as £1.

Same with a sofa for £499. In my head it's £500 and I'd refer to it as £500.

Same with a car for £7995. It's 8 grand in my head, nothing less.

However the general population is dumb and easily brainwashed so it most definitely does work. All these idiots care about is that "it's less than two hundred pounds" and dont bother calculating exactly how much less it acually is.

itchy · 23 Mar 2014 at 22:25

And so we shall set sail!!!!

Glaucus · 23 Mar 2014 at 22:28

LordSplodge said:
p

I think you'll find with Apple, Google, Microsoft all competing it's hardly a monopoly.

As for now choice? I suppose those going from Apple to Google or Google to Apple had not choice, did they.

Because changing a device that costs hundreds and throwing away all your apps, is really a free market :rolleyes:

There is no direct competition between them, if you own an iphone you can hardly use the Microsoft store.