Google to withold GST for sales in India regardless of seller location
Hello Google Play Developer,
Beginning July 1, 2017, due to new Goods & Services tax (GST) laws in India, Google will be responsible for determining, collecting, and remitting GST on Google Play app purchases in India.
This change applies to all paid apps and in-app purchases made by customers in India, even if your business is not located in that country.
Additionally, pricing in India will be GST-inclusive. In countries with GST-inclusive pricing, prices shown on Google Play must be equal to the amount paid during payment - all taxes (including GST) must be included in the price. If you have apps targeted to India, you can sign in to your Google Play Console to review your prices for paid apps and in-app purchases in India.
Please note: At this time, we’re unable to change prices for existing subscription products. Beginning July 1, 2017, GST will be determined and remitted using existing prices for subscription products. However, you can publish and start selling new subscription products with a different price point.
Comments
I figured out that these changes are part of a global taxation movement to tax sales rather than profits.
It appears that legal changes that treat services a bit like imports means the receiving jurisdiction can tax software products (classes as services) with, essentially, an import tariff.
So, to those people that think they want a trade free "common market", it doesn't exist - you effectively have a 20% import duty on software in the EU whether you're in it or out of it.
Plus the rest of the world are catching on to this lucrative idea to "tax foreigners living abroad" and following suit.