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Comment by Gys | Hacker News Reader

'Nonprofit organizations, accredited educational institutions, and government entities based in the United States'

US only...

"Fee waivers for other countries will be added as they become available." https://developer.apple.com/support/membership-fee-waiver/

Yeah. I see zero reasons why this can't be extended internationally -- just flag these developer accounts as unable to charge or profit (in any way) from apps, including having the review process exclude anything with in-app ads (which, IIRC, are already flagged/audited in some way).

The delay may have something to do with complying with local laws. I suspect that since this is limited to non-profits, Apple is claiming some portion of this $99 as a tax deduction. If this is what is "funding" the program, then they need to make sure the legal framework is in place in other countries.

Purely curiosity, but surely that can't be how it works? It kind of makes sense at face value, but seems like a monster loophole[1], too -- I'd be curious if anyone could point me towards more reading on the topic.

1 - Bob wants tax deductions. Bob decides to sell pencils for $50k each. Bob discounts them to $0 for non-profits. Can Bob deduct $50k per pencil, for each sold to a non-profit?? Maybe Bob can only deduct his cost, or something?

IRS lets you claim "fair market value" on donations.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p561#idm140501112136960

From what I remember of working with a non-profit, there are limits to "gift-in-kind" donations. Apple sells the license at $99, but they can probably only claim $50 or so since that's what the actual "cost" of an iOS developer is.

So in your example, yes, Bob could only deduct the cost of the pencils, not his inflated "value".

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