Is User Data a Form of Payment? EU VAT Committee Explores Taxation of Digital Barter Transactions

The EU VAT Committee is examining whether providing IT services in exchange for user data constitutes a taxable barter transaction.
Italy has assessed major platforms like Meta, LinkedIn, and X for VAT on their “free” services, prompting a request for the Committee’s opinion.
The Committee distinguishes between three models: (a) identical service regardless of data shared (not taxable), (b) variable service based on data shared (case-by-case assessment), and (c) paid subscriptions versus data-for-service models (possible taxable value reference).
There is still no clear legal framework, and further criteria for evaluating these business models are being developed.

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.