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Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) forces online marketplaces to fight VAT fraud
Berlin The Internet is largely dominated by the anarchy of tax policy. This becomes especially clear on online platforms such as Ebay or Amazon: suppliers in China or other countries do not deduct the German sales tax of 19 percent if they sell goods there. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Treasury escapes such an amount of three digits million a year – at least. Tax experts are more likely to spend a billion.
Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) now wants to put an end to this tax evasion. A new law of his house plans to take online markets from the beginning of 2019 more in the obligation to prevent VAT fraud in the network.
Platforms such as Amazon or Ebay should now be liable for the unclaimed sales tax, It is only if they submit to the tax administration a certificate of approval. tax registration of the sellers who are active there, they should not be held responsible.
In addition, they will in the future have to record certain data from their users whose sales in Germany are taxable. The law will be adopted by the Federal Cabinet on Wednesday and will enter into force on 1 January 2019.
"The bill provides for fair taxation, we are putting an end to the illegal practice of some traders in electronic markets, which are exempt from the sales tax and thus gaining unfair competitive advantages," said Scholz. new regulation "we protect all fiscally honest businesses and also ensure fair competition between domestic and foreign sellers."
However, it took time for politics to tackle the problem. years that the sales tax in online commerce is likely to be abused.The legislative process was launched by the finance ministers of the countries that had agreed on the liability regime
"More and more people are buying online. However, with the growth of online commerce, VAT fraud is more widespread, "says Doris Ahnen (SPD), Rhineland-Palatinate's Minister of Finance. "It is therefore urgent to tighten the legal rules."
Therefore, the federal and state governments have also opted for a national transitional solution, until the entry into force in 2021 of the "EU Digital Package". Although this also implies that the operators of electronic marketplaces themselves become taxable under certain conditions. "However, it is important to protect all companies and all private buyers who respect the tax rules and avoid distortions of competition until the entry into force of the European rules", says the Federal Ministry of Finance.
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