Hello, need some help from one of my German SB mates :)

Sorry for the English :neutral_face:

Hi :slight_smile: Most of you around here who only frequent the German section of the forum, probably don’t know me, but I have been around these boards (Eng. only) since SX2… white forum, then blue, now this.

I will try and be brief here… I live in the USA, and will be doing a recording session at Teldex studios in Berlin. I will remain in the US, and the files will be sent to me later on.

All of the research I have done - which includes info directly from the EU, and as well German customs (zoll.de) - tells me that I should not be paying VAT. The studio, however, insists that I must. I spoke with a CPA here in the USA, who is from Germany (heavy accent and all… LOL), and specializes in German tax law. He didn’t give me a definitive answer either way, (it’s really complicated, he says), but told me that I may be able to get reimbursed by Germany, if I fill out the proper paperwork. What paperwork? Well, that’s complicated too. And I have to make sure I have the right info, and it has to be done in a certain time frame, and as there is no I.R.S. equivalent in Germany (apparently everything is done locally there), I have to make sure I send it to the proper place, etc. I was hoping to find a German finance forum, where someone can guide me on the proper steps, but am unable to.

Does anyone here know of an online forum that deals with German finance and/or taxes? Or, is there someone here who can possibly offer me some advice? Understandably, if you are located in Germany, you might not be too familiar with the laws regarding the export of goods and services to outside the EU, but am thinking there might be someone here who can help.

Thanks in advance. :slight_smile:

Hi Jeff,

i don’t think you have to pay VAT. I assume you’re a business entity (maybe it’s different to private persons), therefor it’s a B2B trade. They should write the invoice as netto (without VAT) and can declare that as “earnings from other countries/service not taxable in inland” to their tax office.

I’m no real expert, but do my tax declaration myself since years.

Good luck

Maybe you have to pay some sort of import tax in your country? If i buy somthing in the USA i have to pay such taxes (ZOLL), but this is for tangible goods. But that may not be part of a invoice of a german company to you. That would be something between you and your tax office.

Thank you for the responses.

No import taxes here, at least not that I am aware of.

So, I wound up using my business, and I do not have to pay VAT. My research still tells me I do not pay VAT even as an individual, but…

Cheers. :slight_smile: