Comments on: Anything but games are illegal?

By: Tom Dupre

Tom Dupre — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:20:26 +0000

I’ve just had a similar exchange of emails after buying a £60 app from iTunes. It is of course nonsense that iTunes only sells non-business apps; the categories include ‘business’ and ‘finance’. However I don’t think this is relevant, at least in the UK:

> If you are registered for VAT, then whenever you supply goods or
> services to someone else who is also registered for VAT you must give
> them a VAT invoice. <
from:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/managing/charging/vat-invoices.htm

By: Apple states iPhone apps are not for business use « IT News Blog

Apple states iPhone apps are not for business use « IT News Blog — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:17:32 +0000

[...] Posting in his blog, the Sweden-based customer was told that “the specific terms of your agreement with Apple when purchasing from the iTunes Store is that the content may not be used for commercial purposes… any attempts to claim your purchases for tax reasons would be in violation of the terms of sale.” [...]

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:52:13 +0000

Just FYI, I checked my App Store invoice and as I’m from Australia, prices do include GST (Goods and Services Tax) and the appropriate ABN, so theoretically, I should be able to claim it on my tax.

By: Techknology’s Blog » Apple: iPhone Apps Can’t Be Used for Business

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:00:24 +0000

[...] the full exchange here, then hit the jump and sound off. Share and [...]

By: martin

martin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:59:29 +0000

@Caleb: ADC (Apple Developer Connection) stuff comes out of Ireland. I’ve bought the WDC 2009 sessions and an ADC membership, and both came (erroneously) with Irish VAT (21%) specified. Both times Apple had to credit it and issue a new invoice, which they are willing to do. Takes a while, but they do. In one case (ADC membership) they simply credited me the VAT and then some, in the other case (the WDC 2009 sessions, I’m still waiting for a resolution, so I don’t know if they’ll charge 25% Swedish VAT or no VAT at all (either way is ok for me).

The difference with the app store is that they don’t and won’t. It seems to me that they only considered music and video sales, and didn’t modify their policy when the app store came along.

By: Caleb

Caleb — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:22:55 +0000

If Apple was failing to collect and pay VAT on purchases in iTunes that would be a surprise. They correctly collect 25% VAT on all purchases from the online store (I have a receipt for a MacBook Pro from International Sales in Ireland and I think ADC purchases are based out of the Netherlands), and those receipts correctly identify the VAT paid as local to Sweden. In fact though my receipt says Ireland I definitely spoke with a Swede and it’s my understanding that we have Applecare and sales branches in the country. The iTunes receipts fail to provide this information, but the prices certainly seem to account for the local VAT, or else they are ripping iPhone developers off with the currency exchange rate between the Swedish kroner and Euro.

By: Pierre Bernard

Pierre Bernard — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:08:34 +0000

You probably have not paid Swedish VAT on your purchases. iTunes purchases by customers in Europe are handled by the iTunes Store in Luxembourg.

Thus you have been charged Luxembourgish VAT. Which of course, you cannot reclaim from the Swedish government. For sales to companies within the European Union, you would need to provide the vendor with your VAT ID. In that event you should not be charged for VAT. It however seems that Apple is not equipped to handle that. Thus they refuse to sell to businesses.

By: martin

martin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:41:21 +0000

Thomas,

I agree up to a point. I was a jerk for the first few messages, and then I wasn’t. I could simply not believe he was telling the truth, I mean would you? In the beginning I thought I really was talking to a moron, since no company with common sense would have a policy like this. Turns out I was wrong.

But I did point out in my text that he was very agreeable and I wish I could change my initial tone, but I can’t. That was what I wrote.

I should add that I exchanged a few more messages with him, asking him to look over the post and approve it before I went public with it, and he had absolutely no problem with it. So I guess he agreed I was a jerk too…

By: martin

martin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:35:58 +0000

Caleb,

Yes, I totally agree. If they’d given me a plain old receipt for “end user consumption” but included the VAT, I couldn’t have cared less. I would never even have checked the EULA (it was iTunes support that pointed me to it). But as it is, the iTunes receipts are on my desk, can’t put them in my accounting, and the same goes for my prospective corporate customers.

I’ll only do the IRS complaints thing if Apple ignores this problem. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:31:32 +0000

Dear Martin,

even though I completely understand your issue and hope Apple will recognize this.

I am a little disappointed by the tone of your mails to “D”.
That guy was trying to be as helpful and supportive as an Apple employee in this position can be and in all of your responses you sound like a jerk, to be honest.

Please keep in mind that these guys are on the very bottom of the hierarchy and get tons of complaining emails everyday. There is, in my humble opinion, no need to make life any harder/unpleasent for them.

THX
Thomas