Today i went to the IRS just to ask out of curiosity how would i declare my microstock incomes in the end of the year. Well, obviusly they were not put to day in this bussines, but they seem to think i have to be registered as an economic activity or enterprise as any other activity that makes me win money, here in Spain it means also to pay about 350$ monthly for the social security. Is this correct, i can�t believe it. These agencies advertise them selves as anyone can upload and sell images as a particular.

Soooo...? Yes, anyone can upload. Anyone can earn money. And anyone has to pay taxes on the money earned. If you make money, as a matter of fact you are making business. No matter how much you make from it or how much your revenue is, it's a self-employed business.

Well, and the USA says if your country has not signed a tax treaty with us, on income earned in the US you have to pay your taxes in the US (now you can argue how much of the income was actually earned in the US, of course...). If you country has signed a tax treaty (which I assume for Spain), you will have to do whatever is agreed in that treaty. In the end, if that is more difficult for you in Spain than for other countries, wouldn't it be your government that needs to be "blamed"? Because it should be in their interest to make tax money from their citizens rather than leaving it paid to some other country.

But somehow I doubt that you have figured it all out yet. I can't believe that Spain doesn't have any local legislation allowing for small/part-time businesses that don't require a full registration with social security etc. But I can't tell you, maybe it would be the right time to ask a local accountant/tax advisor.

There�s no need to be a company. That�s just bull...    But if you�re making serious money it�s always the best thing. 
( taxdeduction for equipment etc )

Try the Irs again and im sure you�ll get another answer.     If you ask Swedish IRS they start talking about selling mushrooms     They�re not used to selling on the internet worldwide.

Quote from: Magnum on June 29, 2009, 08:06

Try the Irs again and im sure you�ll get another answer.

I don't think the IRS (I assume you are talking about the US one) is going to be the right entitiy to ask. Ask your local tax office, an accountant or tax advisor. They are more interested in helping you...

That�s what he did    "so i asked the IRS equivalent here (Hacienda)"

I don't think I need to register a business here in Brazil, unless I am doing something wrong, and so are other people I know.  There may be advantages in registering a business, like discounting expenses and even paying less taxes. 

In our annual tax report, there is a form to fill in with foreign earnings, converted to our money, and the total counts for tax adjustment calculations.  There is no need to inform where this money comes from (what is odd, as even earnings as a shareholder need to be declared in detail).  I believe there would be a different rule if microstock was my main income.

Can't you be simply self-employed in Spain?

Yeah, self employed, that�s what i mean, in order to be self-employed (autonomo) i need to pay a monthly fee of around 250� (350 U$) to the social security.
My point is not even my particular situation, (because i am allready self employed) i do freelance job as CG architectural visualizatior. My point is that there�s no room in this bussines to particualr people who just want to sell some of their photos (exactly what these pages avdertise) and exactly what i thought more of the people here or in other forums are. I really doubt everybody in this bussines is in this situation, so my big surprise.
It�s hard to try explain this in foreign lenguage.

Do you mean you pay tax in advance? (250�)     I do that based on last years tax.  If I earn less I get the extra tax back.   

Many people starting a company get scared when they notice they have to pay in advance. ( Its alway best to tell IRS you probably earn zero first year)  .

Or is it some special fee just for your country you need to pay??? It seems weird, cause it all depends how much you earn.

I see your problem now.  In my case, I already pay the top contribution for social security in my main job, so this is not an issue.  Anyway, here the payment is proportional to the earnings, and I am almost 100% sure there is no minimum value; if there is, it is certainly not as high. 

A self-employed person can choose the base value for the contribution calculation, but this limits the future benefits (retirement, insurance, etc).  Only medical assistance isn't affected.

I apologize if I read your first postings wrong. It seems I was a bit off track by assumptions that any "reasonable" country in the western hemisphere has more or less similar rules.

I have now tried to get some information about the situation in Spain and from all what I have seen in the internet, it appears that Spain actually is the country in Western Europe making it the hardest to become a self-employed person, especially if you try to do it as a secondary income.

I hope you will find some fellow Spanish microstocker who has gone through all this. Or you can find a local tax advisor who can give you some other solution.

Hi arquiplay77,

I am from Italy and, as far as I know, the laws of our countries are pretty similar.
Here, when you start a part-time job or secondary business, you can decide how to manage the Social Insurance/Pension Scheme, meaning that you can pay it double (once for each activity) OR pay it only for your main job.
I cannot confirm but, perhaps also in Spain it is possible something similar. Try to ask to a private tax specialist or business consultant.

bye.

Hi All,

Here is the U.S. even a sole proprietor is leaving themselves very exposed to a law suit that can take their personal property as well as business investments if one of your images causes such a result. Location or model release, etc issues. If you incorporate you remove your own personal belongings from your companies holdings. So if someone sues you they can only go after your business not your personal home or car or any other personal assets you might have. You should all register yourselves as businesses that is what you are and you have to pay your taxes. They are cracking down on this massive loss in revenue that is taking place in our industry. I know personally, I have been audited by everyone and their mother. A lot of paper work but always treat the IRS with friendliness and teamwork approach. They can be very reasonable about payment structuring if you owe them money and the easier going and open you are the better your results will be.

Best,
Jonathan