- The taxability of voluntary payments (“donations”) to operators of free online offerings is under review by the German Federal Fiscal Court (BFH).
- The Berlin-Brandenburg Fiscal Court ruled that such donations are not subject to VAT, as there is no direct exchange of service for payment and donors receive no special benefits.
- Donations were made without contractual obligation and served as startup funding, not as payment for specific content.
- The court allowed full input tax deduction for the operator, as all expenses related to the economic activity.
- The case is distinguished from other rulings where donations were linked to specific benefits for donors.
Source: umsatz-steuer-beratung.de
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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