Hello from Shanghai, China! I am in the back seat of an Uber after an amazing dinner with Ally Mona, host of the Limitless Laowai podcast. It was great to share tips and war stories as 2 podcasters here in China – some exciting news we are discussing that I hope to officially announce in upcoming shows.
Thanks to everyone who reached out about the China Echannel for foreigners -I got some good feedback, and seems like you need a Chinese work permit to get it. Keep the feedback coming!
I attended a massive Chinese Amazon seller conference last Monday – thanks Chris Davey for getting me an invite – seriously 2000 sellers there in Shenzhen – and the market is moving fast. I made a video blog on mikesblog.com/vlog035 if you want to watch that. Since releasing the video tons of people have been contacting me about doing deals with Chinese Amazon sellers and it’s really exciting.
Which leads into this week’s show – we have some insights on selling to Amazon EU – dealing with VAT and taxes , yippee – now let’s get into it
Topics Covered in this Episode
Background
Tell us a bit about your background, tax professional in Europe?
Value Added Tax
VAT – value added tax – for us Americans and others who haven’t heard of such a thing, care to explain it?
Rates Per Country
So it’s a EU wide thing – but the rates are different in different countries? What are some of the percentages, high / low / average amounts?
Necessity
We have a decent amount of Amazon and E-commerce sellers who listen to the show – I know a lot want to sell on Amazon EU – this is a necessity?
EU Company
Does one need to have a company setup somewhere in EU in order to collect VAT?
No EU Company
On the other hand, if I don’t have an EU company, and I start selling on Amazon in the EU – do I need to be bothered with this at all?
Do you know if Amazon handles this for sellers?
VAT Collection
And I hear that soon the EU will require businesses around the world to collect VAT on sales to any EU customers – how is that going to work?
Tracking Sales
So I have to keep track of all my sales to anyone there, and add it in my shopping cart rules?
Then wire money over, from Hong Kong, or US, or wherever?
Solution
So you have a solution you’re working on for this -care to pitch it to us
People / Companies / Resources Mentioned in this Episode
√ Quaderno
√ Dynamite Circle
√ Amazon Law – using luxembourg only tax rate
√ Invoice in europe different from USA
√ Stripe
√ Paypal
√ Braintree Payments
√ EU Vat Guide
√ Digital Nomads: Have You Set Your Business Up In Hong Kong?
√ Ivo Oltmans LinkedIn Account
√ Limitless Laowai
√ Chinese Sellers on Amazon Direct – Mike’s Blog
√ Cross Border Summit
Episode Length 27:01
Still in this Uber backseat – cruising in style.
Thank you Ivo for sharing those insights. Are you currently selling in Amazon EU? Or selling in EU at all. It is crazy to me how all these countries, around the world, are trying to enforce people in other countries to report taxes back to them. Borders are still trying to be held up even as the internet and ecommerce are breaking them down
Talking about Borders – I am planning already Cross Border Summit 2017 – in shenzhen April – still didn’t confirm exactly the dates – but make sure you pencil it in – we are going to do 2 days this time – just so many amazing speakers already asking to come and share. Can’t wait – life is good, do what you love – and catch you guys soon.
Feedback from a Listener:
FYI the podcast on UK VAT requirements is incorrect. The £81K threshold only applies to UK residents and UK registered companies. VAT must be payed from the start by anyone trading in the UK who is not a UK citizen or a registered UK company. The UK government introduced a new law which now makes the likes of Amazon & E-bay responsible for any VAT lost and they are legally obliged to take down any company that is trading illegally.
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