VAT Applies to Full Compensation, Including Penalties, for Unlicensed Public Use of Copyrighted Works

• VAT is owed on the full compensation, including statutory penalty increases, for unauthorized public use of copyrighted works.
• The court ruled that making protected works public without a license constitutes a taxable service, even if rights holders cannot oppose the use.
• VAT must be calculated over the entire, tripled amount imposed as a sanction, not just the regular license fee.
• The statutory increase is considered part of the taxable amount, not a separate compensation outside the VAT scope.
• The tax authority must levy VAT on the total amount owed by the infringer.

Source: btwjurisprudentie.nl

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.

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