I need some info about selling samples or other things

[::XeS::]

I'm thinking to sell "something" online...samples or other things music related.
I have some ideas that I wanna try to realize but what I wanna know is:
if I sell samples online (like Lasse or Drumwerks) should I pay taxes (vat number,etc...) or not?
I've never understood the online selling procedures...someone says you have not to pay taxes, other that you don't pay taxes only if you don't earn more than 500€/month...

Any advice is accepted
Thanks

 

[Lasse Lammert]

if the tax system in Italy is anything like that in Germany....don't do it.

OF COURSE you'll have to pay taxes, but not only that, you'll also have to pay VAT depending on where the buyer is coming from, and if he's a private person or a business....then there are differences in europe (if it's within the EU or not), in some case you'll have to pay taxes in the country the buyer is from (which of course means you'll have to get an extra accountant in each of those countries, cause your national accountants don't know international tax laws...at least not the laws of every country....

so for every sold sample you'll have to have the exact address of the buyer as well as his business/private status, his VAT number etc...and that's not even half the job done....

and even IF you manage to get all that shit done correctly you'll have to pay income tax of course and in most cases VAT as well....here is an example:

a buyer buys my drum pack for 99€.....that leads to LOADS of hassle cause you'll have to find out all the details, you'll also need an accountant or something to deal with all the shit (believe me, you can't do it on your own unless you're a pro in tax law and are doing it full time)...after Paypal fees, income tax and VAT you'll have about 20€ left...of which you'll have to pay the accountant, new drumskins, ALL THE TIME YOU PUT IN IT...possible a shop system/web page....

NOT WORTH IT!

that's why I'm possibly gonna quit selling these samples in the near future...in the end I don't make any money on them (or I'm even paying extra)...

sorry to disappoint you, but it's really not as easy to make money on the web as it looks...even if you've got a good product.
at least not in Germany

 

[::XeS::]

Thanks Lasse. Unfortunatelly I think the tax and burocratic system is very similar to your (I understood it speaking with Jipchen about his authorities problems with the new studio).
It looks like a big PITA
What if you sell a pack, for example, at 99€ (vat. not included)? Yes the buyer have to pay a little more but you definitely have more earning margin

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Well, whenever you sell something as a VAT-registered business, you have to take the VAT in account in the first place in your pricing. Also, as a VAT-registered business, you can deduct the VAT you're paying from the VAT of your purchases, so it's not like the VAT is just magically taken away from you. I've saved about a 1000€ in purchases this year after registering for VAT. About having an accountant in every country you're selling to, that sounds a bit... strange. Just get yourself a good accountant who knows his/her shit and you should be good.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Well, whenever you sell something as a VAT-registered business, you have to take the VAT in account in the first place in your pricing. Also, as a VAT-registered business, you can deduct the VAT you're paying from the VAT of your purchases, so it's not like the VAT is just magically taken away from you. I've saved about a 1000€ in purchases this year after registering for VAT. About having an accountant in every country you're selling to, that sounds a bit... strange. Just get yourself a good accountant who knows his/her shit and you should be good.

well, "you have to have one in every country" is a bit exaggerated of course, but it's YOUR duty to find out if you have to pay taxes in some other country and it's YOUR duty to do it without being reminded...your accountant is not liable, YOU sign for that!
the tax laws in Germany are changing so quickly and are so complex that most accountants here aren't even up to date...and even if you just have to pay 50 cents tax in the USA you'll still have to fill out the tax forms etc abd go through loads of hassle.

I've decided it's not worth it, but that might be different for other countries of course...Germany tries to fuck you wherever it can, especially if you're self employed....

if I was married for example I'd have to pay all the social insurances etc for my wife, on top of her university fees etc

Germany is a fucking CUNT if you wanna be self employed, if I wouldn't have my studio here and all my investments bound in it I would have fucked off already.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

well, "you have to have one in every country" is a bit exaggerated of course, but it's YOUR duty to find out if you have to pay taxes in some other country and it's YOUR duty to do it without being reminded...your accountant is not liable, YOU sign for that!
the tax laws in Germany are changing so quickly and are so complex that most accountants here aren't even up to date...and even if you just have to pay 50 cents tax in the USA you'll still have to fill out the tax forms etc abd go through loads of hassle.

I've decided it's not worth it, but that might be different for other countries of course...Germany tries to fuck you wherever it can, especially if you're self employed....

if I was married for example I'd have to pay all the social insurances etc for my wife, on top of her university fees etc

Germany is a fucking CUNT if you wanna be self employed, if I wouldn't have my studio here and all my investments bound in it I would have fucked off already.

Yeah, sounds familiar. Being self-employed causes a fuck-ton of stuff you have to figure out by yourself, but that's just what you get for being difficult and working for yourself For example, I get a weekly phone call from one of the several business insurance companies telling me I've forgotten to take this particular pricey insurance, and before I fix it my business is considered illegal. Naturally, it's up to me to know that I actually don't need that insurance unless I mark my personal salary over a certain amount in my yearly accounting. People are trying to fuck over the self-employed constantly on a global scale

 

[::XeS::]

Sincerely I thought it was much more easy to start a business outside Italy...but after earing these things....

 

[ForHerDeadEyes]

Not suspicious at all..
-Hi, how do Impulse Responses?
Next thread..
-Hmm, I'm thinking about selling some stuff..

I'm just joking, man..

 

[::XeS::]

Ahahaha...
Just some ideas, nothing concrete at the moment.
Anyway it was an aspect that was never clear to me, so I asked

 

[ForHerDeadEyes]

Yeah, good luck, man..
I've been thinking of starting my own buisiness as well.. but.. it does seem like a lot of hassle..
Maybe you could get some state funding for new buisinesses or something? I dunno..

 

[LeSedna]

In france, since 2 years ago, we can declare as "auto entrepreneur" which is mostly only possible when you don't make a tremendous benefit out of it (which is the case of most people anyway) and for certain types of jobs, mostly services self-created jobs. It's intended to make it easier to create your business, because it's sometimes a bit irralistic to have to fill so many legal papers when you just wanna sell hot dogs in a street. It actually takes only a few minutes and can be done online, and can be cancelled anytime. Your taxes are at a fixed rate and only apply to what you earn, which means you cannot lose money.

The drawback is that it cannot theorically be applied to all fields (and I'm not sure you can declare as an AE under this status) but for example you can be a photographer (not artistic where you actually sell your pieces of art, but as a wedding photographer etc where you sell a service) very easily and legally. I don't know if it's possible to declare such things under this state here. Also, it's not always the best legal status here for all jobs, it's just very simple. Plus, you're not as protected as when you declare a classical business in term of insurance, so depending on the type of business, it could be risky because it doesn't always (or at all, don't remember) cover you from bankrupt and makes a distinction between your own goods and those of the business, so it's good mostly for jobs that are really not risky physically or legally.

But it's a very awesome thing in my opinion when you just wanna quickly try something for a few weeks or months in some fields. I once considered it to do photographer little jobs but I haven't pushed the reserach further. I'm actually wondering now if it's possible to declare oneself as an AE in france under this state. Could be interesting for some people to give a shot in this profession without risking too much, and be 100% legal. Since it's also a lot aimed at self created internet jobs, maybe it covers selling digital files online, I honestly don't know.

 

[::XeS::]

Here there is something similar..... it's called "minimum taxpayer". If you earn less than 30.000€/year you can open your activity with things less complicated.
You can't deduct the cost for equipment but you don't do invoices.