28 February 2017
The Taiwanese government has now officially confirmed that from 1 May 2017 they will make it mandatory for non-resident providers of digital services to VAT register and start charging VAT at 5% on their supplies to Taiwanese consumers.
This new requirement will be subject to a VAT registration threshold of NTD 480,000 (approx $ 15,000).
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 be applied to a range of electronic services including streaming games, music, apps, films, e-books, e-journals and internet services.