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Comment by varjag | Hacker News Reader

You should, in most places of the world that have VAT. E.g. you pay VAT on inbound courier services like UPS, FedEx, atop of the duty on the goods they carry. (but not on outbound ones).

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What do you mean? You pay VAT on imported goods. Not on imported services.

You might pay a customs duty on imported goods, but you don't pay VAT.

It depends. Goods from inside the EU: you'll pay VAT (and recover it). Goods outside EU: you pay import duty (which might include VAT - but you don't actually pay that VAT as a company, because it's VAT)

If this wouldn't apply to services, it would give non-EU suppliers an unfair advantage.

You need to pay VAT on imported goods into the EU.

In Germany it is called "Einfuhrumsatzsteuer".

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/overview

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

> You pay VAT on goods sent from non-European Union (EU) countries and EU special territories (eg the Canary Islands) if they’re:

> gifts worth more than £39

> other goods worth more than £15

> alcohol, tobacco products and fragrances (eg perfume, eau de toilette and cologne) of any value

Customs duty is different.

> You’ll be charged Customs Duty on gifts and other goods sent from outside the EU if they’re above a certain value.

> The value includes:

> the price paid for the goods

> postage, packaging and insurance

   Type and value of good   Customs Duty
   Anything under £135      No charge
   Gifts worth £135-£630    2.5%, but rates are lower for some goods - call the helpline
   Gifts above £630 and other goods above £135	The rate depends on the type of goods and where they came from - call the helpline

If that distinction would exist (it doesn't) it would be another huge loophole.

Ill sell you a car for 1 cent if you also take the car care service where we email you a magazine for 60k. Tax avoided.

And companies within the country that would have to pay tax couldnt compete with that. So soon everybody in the country would be unemployed.

You pay VAT on imported services. If you don't and you aren't a resident of an exempt territory, you breach the law.

http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/vat-customs/cross-borde...

see the 'services' tab.

"If you receive services for the purposes of your business from a supplier based outside the EU, you must generally pay VAT at the rate that applies in your country, as if you had supplied the service yourself "

Europe wants you to pay VAT on "electronically supplied services online" even if the seller is outside the EU. That might not apply in Dmitry's specific case (as a human and not a robot), but it's certainly not restricted to just goods:

https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/buying-goo...

(EDIT: Ahh, varjag beat me to a similar point while I was typing!)

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