Cross-border online sales - where do they take place?

[speedster]

Where are online transactions deemed to have taken place for tax purposes? i.e. If seller is located in Country A and client buys online from Country B, where did the transaction take place? Is this a foreign-sourced income for the seller?

 

[Martin Everson]

Depends on Country A distance selling laws. You need to look it up.

 

[speedster]

Depends on Country A distance selling laws. You need to look it up.

Hong Kong

 

[fshore]

What taxes are you referring to, sales tax or income tax on the profits generated from the sale? And for goods or services?
You can say that the sale is in Hong Kong, but the other country might also say that it takes place in their country.

What type of shipping you use (where the risk is passed over to the buyer) is important.

For example USA has recently changed the laws for source of income. If you send a parcel from HK to US with DHL and you are responsible for the package until the customer has received it, then the passing of the title happens where the customers receives it (in USA) and this is regarded as US source income. This applies to resale of goods and not you own produced goods. If you produce your own goods then it's where it's produced that determines if it's US source income.
Note that you don't necessarily have to pay any taxes to USA even though you have US source income, that depends on if you have ECI.

In Hong Kong it depends on where you have your office. If you don't have any office in HK and products don't pass through HK then it's generally considered non HK income. The income is generated where you have you office, or where you are physically.

 

[speedster]

What taxes are you referring to, sales tax or income tax on the profits generated from the sale? And for goods or services?
You can say that the sale is in Hong Kong, but the other country might also say that it takes place in their country.

What type of shipping you use (where the risk is passed over to the buyer) is important.

For example USA has recently changed the laws for source of income. If you send a parcel from HK to US with DHL and you are responsible for the package until the customer has received it, then the passing of the title happens where the customers receives it (in USA) and this is regarded as US source income. This applies to resale of goods and not you own produced goods. If you produce your own goods then it's where it's produced that determines if it's US source income.
Note that you don't necessarily have to pay any taxes to USA even though you have US source income, that depends on if you have ECI.

In Hong Kong it depends on where you have your office. If you don't have any office in HK and products don't pass through HK then it's generally considered non HK income. The income is generated where you have you office, or where you are physically.

I'm referring to income/profit tax and digital assets. HK doesn't tax foreign source income, so I'm wondering where the income would be considered sourced. We do have an office and director in HK.

 

[fshore]

We do have an office and director in HK.

If that office sell the products then you have HK source income.