Focusing on supplies of intangibles, such as services,
intellectual property rights and digital content, we consider
this Global VAT Guide to be timely, given that revenue authorities
throughout the world are increasingly focused on taxation
issues for the growing e-commerce sector, both in a direct
and indirect tax context.
The release of this guide follows recent developments in
this area, including:
- Recent Consumption Tax reforms in Japan which
have applied to inbound e-commerce supplies from
1 October 2015
- Proposed GST reforms in New Zealand relating to
inbound 'remote services' (including digital content)
supplied in a B2C context which may be subject to GST
from 1 October 2016
- GST reforms in Australia which will expand the scope of
the GST to capture inbound intangible supplies in a B2C
context from 1 July 2017
- Proposed VAT reforms in Russia for E-Commerce
Services
For convenience, we have used the term VAT in this guide to refer to value added taxes. Such taxes may be
known by other names, including 'Goods and Services
Tax' (GST) or Consumption Tax. We have also adopted
the commonly used terms B2B to refer to 'business-tobusiness' and B2C to refer to 'business-to-consumer'.
With over 300 world class legal
professionals, DLA Piper’s Global Tax Group is one of the
largest in the world, with one of the largest geographical
footprints of any global law firm. We partner with our
clients, wherever they do business, to find solutions
and manage risk in relation to their legal challenges and
objectives. We won International Tax Review’s award for
European Indirect Tax Team of the Year in 2015.
While this guide provides high level guidance, it is not a
substitute for legal advice in relation to specific matters.
This is particularly important for VAT matters, given that
local laws and policy can change quickly and without notice
and the economic and factual circumstances are so critical.
In a European context, the detail of the rules in different
EU jurisdictions can vary significantly. If you wish to speak
to any of our advisers, their contact details are set out
towards the back.
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