VeeshanVault

VAT to be Charged for the European Union

To comply with changes in the law in the European Union, Sony Online Entertainment game Subscribers who are residents of EU countries will be charged VAT equal to 17.5% of the subscription fees. These changes require that digital services be taxed at the point of consumption , i.e. in your country of residence. The countries currently covered by this policy are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom.

So what's this mean to all our friends across the pond? About how much of a tax is this in dollar amount? I know I'd be pissed if they taxed my EQ and other online games. Hope it isn't OMGIAMRETARDEDCAUSEALOTISTWOWORDS

Yup, it sucks.

Ha ha silly foreigners! Pay! PAY!!

17.5%

They should charge more like 8% or something along the lines of sales tax. Or is sales tax that high in europe? I don't know your tax structures over there....I have hear some countries tax rates are really high...

I think I heard once of like 50% tax...if taxes here in america were that high I'd expect them to have a gov't employee standing in the bathroom to wipe my ass.

Thank fuck Britian aint in the E.U.....yet
<shifty eyes>

and United Kingdom.

Cotto wrote:Thank fuck Britian aint in the E.U.....yet

I didn't remember Britain being in the EU. But how does it work that the UK is listed, but GB is not a member? Seriously...is that a fuck up? Or am I missing something?

I have friends in Europe, and this is what they tell me:

Tax of 17.5% is just like the 5-7% sales tax we pay - it is everywhere (some exceptions like food items, but not many).

But unlike how we do sales tax here in the states, they put the 17.5% directly into the ticket price of any items for sale.

Using american Dollars for simplicity sake, but the math is of course the same in any currency:

If there is something that we can buy now for $10 + sales tax, they will have it ticked at $11.75 with no additional fees tied into it (since it is already built in).

So the $12.95 for EQ they pay a month is now $15.22 a month.

My question is, how can the people who put this tax out collect this extra funds from SoE, or any American (or world-wide) company that they do service with over the internet.

Americans actually pay 'built in' taxes (as you put it) on certain things as well.

Gas, tobacco, etc...so technically we're being taxed twice on certain goods.

Err, Cotto: As far as I know, GB is very much in the EU...

Danish general VAT is at a crazy 25%...

great britain is definitely in the EU. and they pay the VAT.

about the only thing they didn't do was switch over to the EUMS or whatever it is, and replace the pound with the euro.