Greetings! I am the freelance web designer doing projects in EU. I’ve done a lot of them for Envato. But recently it turned out that I might be a subject to EU tax authorities’ investigation, as well as thousands of other Envato authors in EU. I’ve described my problem on one of the forums in April People told me to consult with tax advisor or lawyer, which I did. It turns out that I am eligible to EU VAT as an author. And Envato collects and pays this tax for authors since 2015. But the problem is that I’ve been doing projects since 2013. So who will pay VAT for those two years? If you take all authors from EU, this may be hundreds thousands of Euro. What should I do? Can this be the subject for tax authorities’ investigation? Am I in danger? If I am sued for tax evasion, can I summon Envato as a third party responsible for the situation to the court?
You should really consult a tax lawyer about what will happen during those 2 years. The tax law changed in 2015, Envato started collecting and paying the VAT since 16 March 2015 even though the new rules came in place on January 1 2015. Envato has absorbed the tax costs between Jan 1 - March 16 so from Jan 1 until today, you're covered. Prior to that, does your country offer you any threshold before VAT registration is a requirement? If yes, and you was below the threshold during these 2 years then you should be ok (but confirm with a tax lawyer). If your country did not have a tax threshold back then, then it is possible you would be liable for VAT. Again, you have to discuss your circumstances with a tax lawyer for these 2 years also. From what I can tell, Envato wouldn't be responsible for VAT during the previous 2 years.