If you’re selling physical products, I really doubt that will be the case. Digital, sure.
At the end of the day, the justification always rests with the person doing the tax declaration but what I’m saying is that in my experience the justification in this context (of shifting physical goods) is sketchy at best. The goods are being sold. Effectively for the same price that I do on my website, to the same customers in the same countries. Yet I am paying no VAT on it.
It simply won’t fly. I am not providing a service, I am selling a product. There is no jury in the world that would buy some line that I’m somehow providing a service to Patreon.
I don’t know. You haven’t said much about what you want to offer. Maybe it really isn’t a fit for Patreon, since it is not a “store to buy products” and it sounds like you plan something along those lines. It’s a platform to support creators and maybe get digital or physical “perks” in return. The vagueness of this model does indeed cause a lot of trouble since it doesn’t fit in any traditional business categories.
I guess it could be seen as a subscription service for receiving my product at regular intervals. The funds would be used to create them rather than through Kickstarter as is usually done.
I was introduced to Patreon through creators in my field doing exactly this, but I’m not sure they’re quite getting the mess this could cause them especially as a couple are based in the same country…
Oh well. I think I’ve found a solution directly through my own website with a bit of coding anyway.
We’re working with EU authorities on being able to charge VAT to Patrons on only those sales of digital goods (and not general support tiers, amongst others). We currently don’t charge VAT/GST/sales tax on tangible goods in other jurisdictions across the globe where such an obligation is not placed upon the marketplace. That said, it’s worth noting that within the EU, marketplace will have the obligation to begin charging/collecting VAT at the end of the year, regardless.