taxes for an online business not selling physical products?
i want to start a website that acts as a middle man..where people pay to use my site to list their property, and others can search the site and browse through these properties. so the only money made by me would be through people purchasing a membership to my site. because this is not a brick and mortar company, and im not selling any physical products or shipping anything, how do taxes work for me? does a sales tax still exist? i was reading through sba.gov but some things are still unclear. also, im living in germany at the moment...i plan on moving back to the states next year but i want to start this company before that. but legally im only allowed to make money in germany as an english teacher. but having an online company...it's not technically making money in germany right? i'm completely clueless about this and im doing lots of reading but any help is much appreciated...im expecting to have to talk to a lawyer about technical stuff very soon too... anyways thanks!
Other - Taxes - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Check on German law - if you're living in Germany, and making money with your online site, it's very likely considered making money in Germany so you wouldn't be allowed to. As far as sales tax goes, check with the state dept of revenue in the state you'll be moving to, and ask if it's taxable. You're providing a service, so it might be depending on the state. Good luck.
2 :
Since you are living in Germany and the entire business is operated in Germany. My guess is it's a German business. If you were from Germany but living in the US and doing this from the US, the US would consider it a US based company. Sales tax is operated by each State. The states each have their own rules; I'm not familiar with one that charges sales tax on services. However, I don't think there is a need for your business. I can go on many different websites and see the MLS listings for free. All houses listed with a realtor will have an MLS number and many privates one too if they are going through the do it yourself home selling groups. For office/industrial properties there are less online sources but there is loopnet and that is a free for most of the information.
3 :
If you receive money for services or goods, you must pay tax on it.
4 :
Because you are not allowed to do anything that is "technically making money in Germany", your business will probably have to be somewhere in the U.S., at least officially. If your business is in a state with a sales tax on this type of service, then you have to charge sales tax. If your business is in a state without a sales tax on this type of service, then you do not have to charge sales tax. Then is no nationwide law on sales tax. Each state has its own rule. I do not understand why anyone would pay you a membership fee for your site when they can get this same service for free on craigslist. You should probably address that problem with your business model before you spend a lot of time on the tax implications.
