Google to keep 5% VAT for sales in Taiwan

Hello Google Play Developer,

Beginning May 1, 2017, due to a change in Value Added Tax (VAT) laws in Taiwan, Google will be responsible for determining, charging, and remitting a 5% VAT on Google Play app purchases in Taiwan. If you were previously collecting VAT in Taiwan, you no longer need to do so. No other action is required on your part.

This change applies to all paid apps and in-app purchases made by customers in Taiwan, even if your business is not located in Taiwan. After this change is made, you'll be able to save time previously spent calculating and remitting VAT for your customers’ purchases.

If you weren’t previously collecting tax, users will pay a higher total price for your app. If you’d like to update your items’ prices, you can do so on the Pricing & distribution and In-app products pages on your Google Play Console.

Please note: At this time, we’re unable to change prices for existing subscription products. Beginning May 1, 2017, VAT will be determined and remitted using existing prices for subscription products. Depending on how you’ve previously calculated taxes for subscriptions, prices to existing subscriptions might be affected due to taxes. However, you can publish and start selling new subscription products with a different price point.

To learn more, visit the Play Console Help Center. If you have additional questions, please consult your tax advisor.

Except my tax advisor says that google has no right to keep this tax money. If sellers are liable to pay Taiwanese tax, then Google should pass that on and the seller should pay.

Hello Google Play Developer,

Update: As mentioned in our recent email to you, due to a change in Value-Added Tax (VAT) laws in Taiwan (TW), Google will be responsible for determining, charging, and remitting VAT for Google Play paid apps and in-app purchases for TW customers. No action will be required on your part.

What's changing is that we'll be using VAT-inclusive pricing in Taiwan starting May 8, 2017. In countries with VAT-inclusive pricing, prices shown on Google Play must be equal to the amount paid during payment - all taxes (including VAT) must be included in the price. Using the Google Play Console, you can review your prices for paid apps and in-app purchases in Taiwan.

If you have additional questions, please consult your tax advisor.

Thank you for your continued support of Google Play.

Under what legal basis are sellers outside of Taiwan liable for Taiwanese tax. This is not explained?

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