Alot and alot negative comments about new decision…I don’t know what Envato will do but i think this is not ignorable by them.If they ignore all of this, i dont know whats gonna happen really…I can’t work for days, Envato was my biggest inspiration to work and i think im loosing it…I feel so bad about this…
Well I can remember at least 10 changes that they have implemented in the last couple of years, and some of them had even bigger negative fedback from “community”, and I can`t recall any decision revert.
You have to understand that Envato has grown into stock industry giant, thay have couple hunder thousand authors and few million buyers. If you go into popular item pages, and do basic calculations you will see that we are talking about enormous profit. I did that for the first few rows of ThemeForest pouplar files and I`ve stopped there, it was too obvious for me.
Why I am explainig this to you? Imagine that Apple has few hundred unsatisfied customer. Will they change company decisions (for instance iMac design) for that? Ofcourse not.
Envato is big now, I guess that they have company board or something, they made decision and it`s final. Time will show if this move is good or bad for us. We can just hope that it will be good.
Yes i totaly understand every single word…
All i know is that i lost all trust in Envato and this marketplace becomes unstable for me…Now when i calculated how much US buyers i have, i lose exactly for the whole year working my ass out to get that earnings…Now that will be taken from me.In order to secure myself, i will decide about moving my items on other marketplaces and turn my account into non-exclusive…There is nothing i can do to make things better because i know this will only get worst.
Please explain how cutting our earnings could possibly be good for us.
There was some talking (I cant quote right now) about boosting our sales and bringing in new potential buyers from US region. If you follow that logic that`s good for us.
But where I live old people would say: “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”
I hope this change to generate more sales in America. I am on the “lucky” list. I lose only 10%. It would be nice Envato, of their analyzes confirm this. Or tell us what authors earn from this change.
After all the hardwork on creating item to be part of elite author and only 30% commission and this! back to square one! Here are my questions though
- Are you planning to increase the pricing on january 1? 15-30% increase for all the items to compensate the authors.
- We’ve been discussing the developer and multisite license 5years ago i think and this tax changes was prioritized, when will you plan to add licenses?
- Are you planning on adding renewal rates?
- Since all the payments and taxes are handled by authors now, can you add tabs on dashboard for us to access buyer information like email, name, country etc… I guess this are our rights now!
- What are your thoughts on some elite authors (from top 50) who are planning to leave because of this?
[edited] 6. Do you think it’s fair across the market that some pays 30% tax and others do not?
Looking forward for the answers. I hope this will not take two days same as the support query.
Dont try to get answer.They are answering only on the questions considering how to complete the application form W8 / W9 …
Of course will not respond, the other day I expressed my frustration about not answering questions, and then envato responded by saying the Australian time and blah blah blah, and I still think alike, this guys skip our questions, and answer what suits them at the moment, They leaving passing the time to resign ourselves
They skip key questions that matters taxes.They skip all they dont agree and don’t wanna take for change…Im still waiting for answer about 4 days.,
totally agree!
But makes me wonder, why we don’t pay taxes for every country our costumers came from. Sooner or later some other government will ask for they piece of cake from authors(or buyers) and this will probably open a door. I am just so glad that after VAT changes I started to focus on freelance jobs…
There exists chances for such happenings but as major part of sales happen in the US,the impact is high with US Sales.
Just a friendly reminder to keep the thread on topic, i.e. only questions about the “non-US Author/Affiliate/Service Provider” changes
Hi. I’m non-US author. In the W8 form I can put U.S. Social Security Number. I’m a bit confused after reading this natman’s post. She said I can put either Foreigner TIN or ITIN, but nothing about SSN, although W8 form has option to set SSN. Please clarify.
PS: My country is in 0% list.
PS2: I have SSN.
Important for romanians about W8-BEN. We can deduct the 10% of our income tax. I detailed in this post. We do not lose anything from our sales in U.S. .
The question is: Envato will provide a document that will pay this fee for us at the end of the month or year ? We have need this evidence for the authorities in our country to deduct the 10% from our income taxes of U.S. sales.
@collis I’ve sent you an email, it’s VALUABLE information before you go to USA, strange things happens…
Hi kh2838, thanks for raising this! After speaking with our tax advisors, we can confirm that you will need to include a signed letter or document from Envato, on official letterhead, showing your name and verifying that an ITIN is required to make distributions to you during the current tax year that are subject to IRS information reporting and/or federal tax withholding.
We’re in the process of preparing the letter now and will make it available on our help center within the coming days. We’ll also let you know here once it’s ready.
@mattosada, hopefully this answers some of your recent questions as well
One of the reasons we initially split (bifurcated) the support price out was we were deciding how this payment would be treated. Unfortunately the US RWHT will be applied to the full Item Price (including the included support). However subsequent extension purchases will have no US RWHT applied.
As some of you may recall, earlier in the year we ran a direct credit card test on Envato Market and the results were promising though with a lot of things to work through. We’re now working to roll that out permanently with US providers behind the facilities for US Buyers, to combat issues like card decline rates. Following this rollout we’ll move to other US payment options such as ACH.
Our initial step into the US is focused on payment options, subsequent activities are mingled with our future strategic roadmap, so for the benefits of being closer to buyers, you’ll need to wait and see
Hi halfdata, on page 6 of the Instructions for Form W-8BEN it says, “To claim certain treaty benefits, you must complete line 5 by submitting an SSN or ITIN, or line 6 by providing a foreign tax identification number (foreign TIN).” Our understanding is that either is OK, but I recommend checking with a local tax advisor to be sure.
Correct - the W form details must always match the account owner details.
Hi Sonicbyte, unfortunately not With the new withdrawal rules, your payment account country must match the one on your completed W-8 or W-9 form.
Hi MikeSea, if the information you provide on your W-8 Form is true, correct, and complete, and you are in a country with a treaty rate of 0%, we won’t apply US RWHT on any of your sales.
Yes, if you have a tax number from your own country and want to claim tax treaty benefits, please enter it in the “Foreign Tax ID” field on the online W-8 Form. Alternately, you can apply and get a US number called an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). If you’re not sure what is the right number in your country, talk to a tax advisor or accountant.
You can withdraw your earnings at any time (with the caveat that withdrawal rules are more limited from January 1st to once per month). However if you don’t complete a W-8 or W-9 form, then after January 1st any 2016 sales will have Backup Withholding tax of 28% applied.
As @xFrontend said, when you submit our online form, you’ll see a confirmation message to let you know submission was successful. Our online form also has built-in validation rules and sections that must be completed before you can submit. That said, you are also required to certify that the information you’ve provided is true, correct, and complete, and acknowledge that there are severe penalties for providing inaccurate or incomplete information. In doing this, you personally are responsible for confirming that the form is valid.
Unfortunately we did attempt to scope a joint revenue sharing system like you describe and it was a hugely complex project because of the complexity of our financial systems. So unfortunately we won’t be creating such a system in the foreseeable future.
Here you go, surjithctly!
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Your statement will be updated to show when taxes are applied, and the amounts withheld
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Unfortunately I can’t help with the first question here - you’ll need to contact a local tax advisor about this
On the second question, at the end of the year we’ll provide you with a Form 1042-S showing your total US sales and any WHT deducted.
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We are working with all of our payment providers to make sure there is no double reporting.
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We’re always reviewing how pricing and fees work at Envato, and will keep this in consideration.
Good call, Bedros! We’ve updated our form so that ITINs and SSNs are not bundled together and also added a separate field for people who can’t or don’t want to provide a tax identification number. Thanks for the suggestion
Hi Allegro, Envato’s online “Tax information” form and the IRS’ Form W-8BEN are one and the same. You only need to complete one, not both.
Hi Bedros, when you complete your W-8 form if it’s validly completed, then we will apply the right treaty rate! I’m sorry about the complexity, it’s not always very intuitive!
Fair point, Mock_Up_Militia. We emailed all authors and affiliates based on the details stored in our database, but you’re right - this should have been announced on the dashboard as well. We’ve added a note there today. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
Good question, the following categories carry the Tools license:
GraphicRiver > Add-ons, VideoHive > Add-ons, GraphicRiver > Fonts, and CodeCanyon > Apps
Hi themeblossom, thanks for reading all the materials first! Here are the answers to your questions:
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If you’ve provided a valid W-8 (which includes either a foreign TIN or US ITIN) and you’re from a country that has a 0% withholding rate, we won’t apply any US RWHT at time of sale.
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You don’t have to use the same payment account on Envato Market and Envato Studio, but the new rules will apply to withdrawals from both starting January 1st, 2016, i.e., payment account countries must match the country of residence on the W form, changes to payment account details are limited to one per month, and withdrawals can only be made to a single account per Envato business per month.
Hi Envato,
So I received another email regarding clarification on the this, but it’s made me more confused. Here’s my case, and surely alot of others too:
- I live outside US.
- My country has a tax treaty with US, which is fortunately 0%.
- I filled the W8 form and provided local tax # applicable in my country used to deduct taxes in our country, and not any separate “Foreign Tax ID Number”.
- Does this mean I have to apply for US ITIN? Or my local tax number would work?
Thank you.
@natman
I provide my details last week, i’ve receive another email but It seems tax form in the author dashboard not working properly again when you select “I will not or am unable to provide a Tax ID Number”
Thanks a lot for the answers. We’re waiting for your official letter now!