UPDATE: Taiwan proposes VAT on foreign e-services

20 December 2016

The Taiwanese government has now passed the bill which will make it mandatory for non-resident providers of digital services to VAT register and start charging VAT at 5% on their supplies from 1 January 2017.

Currently non-resident businesses providing digital services do not have to charge VAT on their sales to consumers, instead the consumer purchasing the e-service self-declares and pays any VAT due to the Taiwanese tax authorities.

This new tax will likely be applied to a range of electronic services including streaming games, music, apps, films, e-books, e-journals and internet services.