chg: vat rate change for finland starting 2024-09-01

[l-naumann]

References: https://yle.fi/a/74-20091421 https://www.vero.fi/en/businesses-and-corporations/taxes-and-charges/vat/rates-of-vat/new-vat-rate-from-1-september-2024--instructions-for-vat-reporting/

[kdeldycke]

Good catch! Let's merge!

[timwhitlock]

Thanks for this!

Possibly off-topic, but this is the first time I've noticed something... The link above states that services supplied on a continuous basis (in my case, a SaaS subscription) should take the tax rate from the END of the subscription period. This is news to me! Is this common knowledge? Is the rule specific to Finland? It would seem impossible to achieve when the rates change at shorter notice than the billing cycle.

[GregOriol]

@timwhitlock Indeed, that's a strange way of applying VAT... I haven't heard of any other rule like this.

There is however this sentence down in the page: If goods bought from other EU countries are delivered on a continuous basis and these deliveries go on for more than one month, the dates when the buyer is deemed as having received the goods are the end dates of each calendar month concerned. The VAT rates that are in force as of 1 September 2024 will apply to intra-Community acquisitions delivered in a continuous way if the acquisition is VAT-reportable during September 2024 or later.

[timwhitlock]

Thanks for highlighting that. Although that's even more confusing and specific!

I also noticed that (in their example of rental payment) it would still be 24% if they paid in ADVANCE. i.e. the tax point is when the funds are paid (or payable?), so the odd rule seems only to apply if payment is due at period end.

If the payer of rent were to make a full payment to the property owner in advance, thus covering the June 2024–31 May 2025 period fully before 1 September 2024, the rental service would be subject to 24% VAT instead.

So I think we're ok. Most invoices for time-based services are payable in advance. Although, I now wonder how late payment would affect this. I'm going to continue on the basis that I always have done, that an invoice has an immediate tax point, which cannot move. Anything else seems mad.

[GregOriol]

Same here: payment on the first day of a monthly service, so tax rate is the one from that date.

[timwhitlock]

Phew... standing down.

BTW, I think your highlighted paragraph concerns continuous supply of goods, but not services.