Regulations and Bureaucracy

[mOBSCENE]

I just got a message from a sponsor saying they can't pay me any more unless I fill in form W-8BEN to declare I don't pay US tax... Is this a new Bush thing, as have never seen it before, and never been asked to fill one in before. Does it mean I will get 93 of these forms to fill in (or however many US sponsors I've got?). Is it because I am earning lots and lots from this sponsor? Hmmmm :coffee:

[BigD]

This has always been the case where a US tax payer pays someone from abroad. If the US based company don't hold a W-8BEN for the recipient they are meant to withold the equivalent of the tax and pay it direct to to the IRS. Up till 9-11 it was mostly ignored but following this the procedures were tightned up again. Perhaps your sponsor has been the subject of a tax inspection in the US?

[ukwebmasters]

regulations and bureaucracy? try italia - in your face every fucking day :(

:mad:

[mOBSCENE]

Thinking about it, it's not so bad to have to fill in a form to make sure the dollars keep rolling in. Just brought back memories of when I had a day job in local government - you couldn't fart without filling in form in triplicate and logging it on some computer record system, then doing it all over again if you'd filled in the wrong form...

I saw this idea on a US board once - why don't we all club together and buy a nice island, then we can all make our own laws?! The first thing I'd ban is any forms of any kind!

[mOBSCENE]

Hmm, I just looked at the form in more detail now I'm back to work. I haven't got a fucking clue what to do with it- what the fuck do I know about tax treaty benefits and notional principal contracts?

Do I need to fill in the bit about tax treaty benefits, whatever the fuck it is?

This is my biggest sponsor, and I basically earn most of my living off them - so I can't afford either to lose the money or have 30% tax taken off by the Us government before it reaches me :mad:

[BigD]

If this is of any help, here is a link to the intructions on how to fill it in -

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw8ben.pdf

[mOBSCENE]

Hey, thanks for the link - I think those are the same instructions I tried to decipher before I decided I might need help.

I couldn't understand a word of the first two pages (and I have a degree in English), so I thought there might be some help in the "specific instructions"

Part one, line 1: "If you are a disregarded entity with a single owner who is a foreign person and you are not claiming treaty benefits as a hybrid entity, this form should be completed and signed by your foreign single owner..."

And the rest is about as clear as fucking mud. Am I being a bit thick?

[BigD]

Sorry I can't help any more with it, never had to fill one in. It certainly looks a bastard to complete.

My wife got one to fill in a few years ago, when she was under contract to a producer in the USA but told them to shove it when advised that the IRS passed on the info to the UK Inland Revenue to make sure the tax was being paid here.

Do you want to share the name of the sponsor who is now asking for thee forms to be completed?

[JT]

Ive not seen one of these yet. Who is the sponsor?

[JT]

regulations and bureaucracy? try italia - in your face every fucking day :(

:mad:


Im going to Rome in January, is that far from you?

[mOBSCENE]

Ive not seen one of these yet. Who is the sponsor?


That would be telling! Actually, they're closed to new affiliates at the moment, and as soon as they're open again I'll be putting my webmaster ref code in my sig (unless I fall out with them over this)

It's weird, as I remember a few days before Christmas I was looking at new programs, and I came across one I liked, but saw all this shite about filling in this form and sending it to them, and no payments can be made until they have it on file etc. Maybe Bush is looking to screw adult companies on tax if they can't be got on 2257 - who the fuck knows?

Anyway, I looked around, and this kind of shit seems to be creeping into the standard TOS of some affiliate progs:

UNITED STATES TAXES. United States residents and corporations, and foreign participants who are residents of the United States, are required to provide a completed and signed United States Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Service Form W-9 setting forth information including a United States Federal taxpayer ID Number or Social Security Number. Foreign participants who are not residents of the United States and who are not conducting a trade or business in the United States, are required to provide a completed and signed United States Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN before any payment will be processed. Foreign participants who are not residents of the United States but who are conducting a trade or business in the United States, are required to provide a completed and signed United States Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI before any payment will be processed.

That's from http://wifeycash.com/info/terms_unlogged.cfm

I was going to sign up with Bumblecash (http://www.bumblecash.com/forms.html) until I read their FAQ and learned these forms are a must before any payments whatsoever are issued...

Just my luck that there's people on here who've been doing this for a lot longer than I have, and I'm the one who gets this fucking form. :mad:

I think my European sponsors may be seeing an increase in traffic shortly...

[nekrom]

Yurk. I would'a gave that paperwork to my accountant and whished him a Merry Christmas, rather then sit down and try to nut it out.

-N

[mOBSCENE]

Funny you should say that, as I just sent it over to him.

I like to puzzle things out for myself, but this was turning into a nightmare, so he can fill it in and bill me and save me a fucking headache :crown: