YouTubers and other influencers were subject to a first area inspection from the tax authorities. The inspection showed that many of them did not properly state their total income or fulfilled their VAT obligations. You may find below a translation of the financial office press release.
The Tax Control and Analytics Section of the General Financial Directorate carried out an analysis of selected tax entities using internet platforms that allow them to earn taxable income based on the content they publish (e.g. YouTube and Twitch).
The processing of data and information obtained in accordance with the applicable legislation detected tax entities that did not properly declare and therefore did not pay tax on income derived from the operation of live broadcasting (streaming) or publishing videos via Twitch or YouTube platforms, or from other income (e.g. from the sale of logoed products, contract products, donations from sponsors, etc.). In some cases, these entities did not even pay value added tax.
“The difference between the income found and the data claimed by the tax subjects in their personal or corporate income tax returns or value added tax returns (including cases in which tax returns were not filed at all) amounted, for example, to tens of millions of crowns that were not paid to the public budgets in the cases dealt with by the Financial Office for the Moravian-Silesian Region,” says Jan Ronovský, Deputy Director General of the Financial Administration. In these cases, the Financial Administration also followed the path of minimal burden on tax subjects, allowing them to declare the established tax liability additionally and subsequently use the option of a payment plan if the conditions are met.
The tax administration therefore recommends that tax entities engaged in the above-mentioned activities pay due attention to the correct reporting of their tax obligations and, where appropriate, file additional tax returns.
In view of the knowledge gained about the level of misconduct found in specific cases, the area of income from similar activities carried out via the internet and social platforms will continue to be the subject of the tax administration’s search and control activities. The next action in this area is planned for the first half of 2023 and will cover a wider range of platforms.