Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Europeans: VAT needs to be paid starting from February 1.
DocBrody
Member UncommonPosts: 1,926
EU citizens, if you were planning to pledge, get a game package, ship, etc. you should get it before February 1, because after then you will have to hand out VAT tax to your nanny state EU government for "digital purchases"
aren´t taxes great?
here is the CIG official announcement
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14433-VAT-Change-Announcement
Starting February 1st, 2015, Cloud Imperium Games will be launching a European publishing arm based in the United Kingdom, Roberts Space Industries International, Ltd. While Squadron 42 is being developed in Europe, the publishing side of the operation has always been located in the United States. The good news stemming from this change is that we will now be closer to our many European customers (and able to establish community and customer service operations in dedicated areas) and will be able to ride out some of the exchange rate fluctuations troubling multinational sales operations.
The downside of this organizational change is that starting on February 1st, we will be required to charge VAT on all purchases (including digital goods) made through the Roberts Space Industries International website, similar to how we must charge sales tax on items sold in Texas and California. And as you may have read in the press, as of 2015 every seller has to charge the rate applicable in the country of the purchaser. This means that in the coming days, the effective rate for European backers will go up depending on the VAT rate of their home country. We know that European backers are familiar with VAT, and likely have already encountered these charges on goods purchased elsewhere online. We wish there were an alternative to charging the tax, but also believe that it is in our best interest to expand Star Citizen’s footprint to a part of the world that has proven to be truly passionate about space games!
We are informing you today, with two weeks before the switch on Feb 1, in case you have been waiting to purchase a ship or package at the current rates. By popular request, we will make a selection of limited edition and wave two ships available again during the week of January 26, in case there’s a past favorite you missed out on and would like to pick up before the international publishing switches over to RSI. Please check this space on the 26th for a list of available ships.
Comments
<<<< make a selection of limited edition and wave two ships available again >>>
:-)
With the new office in UK i am waiting for the OTHER new office in Germany (Frankfurt) to be announced soon. I suspect it will be near any of the Crytek centers (incidently Crytek HQ is in Frankfurt **cough**cough**). That would be close enough by car (for me) to try to organize a fan-meet that includes an office tour later this year. Like the SC pub meetings in Austin.
If the new UK office is in London and not elsewhere in the UK, maybe one can do such a meet-and-greet there too. Ryan Air flies to London and back for under 100 € from many places in Europe.
Have fun
PS:
A wild theory, if I may .... Crytek was in financial trouble throughout 2014 and had to sell IP rights to stay afloat. Crytek was critizised for not getting the full potential out of the Cry-Engine - and CIG just 64-bit-overhauled the CryEngine. Cryteks "planned blockbuster" Ryse:Son of Rome busted. The Crytek management told gaming magazines that those trying times are now behind them, as they were able to get "additional investors" on board. Hhhmmmm .... who might that be ??
Due to the VAT changes CIG started a Limited Ship sale - as low as 30 $ (that includes 24 month insurance !) or as low as 45 $ for a package (24 month insurance including Beta Access and in game cash). A good time also if you are looking for some rare alien ships and want to support the crowdfunding project.
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14449-Limited-Ship-Sale
**Begin Quote **
"Greeting Citizens,
We’re kicking off the promised ‘pre VAT’ sale a few days early to give backers more time to pick up limited ships. You can find a selection of limited release ships and packages available below. As an added bonus, we’ve brought back a few of our anniversary sale ships with the two year insurance. These will be in the store through February 1st, at which point we are legally required to begin charging VAT on purchases in Europe. These ships are in various stages of completion, and have been organized by their status. Flyable ships can be used in Arena Commander today, Hangar Ready ships will appear in your Hangar but can’t be flown yet and Concept ships are still in the works!
Remember: we are offering these pledge ships to help fund Star Citizen’s development and to give European backers a chance to pick them up at a lower price. All of these ships will be available for in-game credits in the final universe, and they are not required to start or enjoy the game. The goal is to make additional ships available that give players a different experience rather than a particular advantage when the persistent universe launches."
**End Quote **
See you in the 'Verse !
Have fun
And for those who grab(bed) a basic Aurora package - you get to test a sleek shiny 300i Origin for free as CIG is currently reworking the Aurora weaponry .... nice way to use pre-Alpha testing and bug-fixing in the context of in game lore ;-)
Have fun
** Begin Quote **
ROBERTS SPACE INDUSTRIES – WARRANTY RECALL NOTICE
Greetings Aurora Pilot,
Roberts Space Industries has received a number of reports of malfunctioning Aurora power plant systems. Some 2944 Aurora models may display an issue which causes their weapons systems to recharge improperly, causing gun cooling sensors to malfunction and, in rare cases, permanently overheating.
We at RSI Consumer Affairs take interstellar safety seriously, and are dedicated to going above and beyond to make sure your starfaring experience is first rate. Thanks to the gracious assistance of our partners at Origin Jumpworks, GmbH, we are pleased to announce that every pilot will be provided a loaner starship from the 300 line until the Aurora overheating issue can be corrected.
In addition to the 300i loaner ship, all Pilots will still have access to their Aurorae, but they are urged to use caution when firing the weapons. Our engineering division expects to correct the issue shortly and have everyone flying again as expected. At this time, the 300i must be returned to the nearest ORIGIN dealership.
To the stars,
Binsen Leck
Vice President
RSI Consumer Affairs Division
** End Quote **
Uupps, that post belongs to the PTU thread ... sorry ....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BTW Arena Commander Patch 1.0.1 is out .... including a new personal sidearm for the upcoming FPS module.
Have fun
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14448-Arena-Commander-101-Released
***snip ***Since you don't actually own anything and since you receive nothing in return and this is SUPPOSE to be a DONATION to fund the making of a game,why are users that are already being exploited asked to pay further tax?
You bet this guy has got lawyers and is filing this under charitable donations,all funds go to game nothing to Space industries.Likely also has a few corporations and keeps only a minimal bank account under the game company title.
probably a good time since he has the equivalent of several lottery winnings, to start demanding some paper work?
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Because in Europe everyone has to pay these taxes. 20 % in my country. Thats not CIG's fault.
Games count as "luxury". Hell, BOOKS count as "luxury".
It was nice while it lasted NOT having to pay that tax, but it could not last forever ....
Have fun
You're right. It's allllllllllll a conspiracy...
And when he's done, he'll fly away in an unmarked black helicopter to meet up with the illuminati lizard-men who control the NWO government.
Tin-foil much?
Tin-foil much?
Tinfoil or not, it is definitely odd... I'm not saying "cash-grab", but there's some disturbance in the force with this one indeed
The new VAT regulation sucks, and it sucks big time, I agree. (especially here, where those corrupt a-holes stealing 27% from us every time
)
BUT:
- it's already in effect, went live at Jan 1st. Don't get this date in the announcement...
- the whole point of it is that now VAT is based on the customer's location. The relocation of the seller part (as it's in the OP) means nothing and is irrelevant to the customer (in this case the backer).
So yep, this "last chance sale now due to VAT changes" sounds a bit odd.
Legally they are not viewed as donations, they are viewed as pre-purchases. RSI would like you to think that they are donations because then you won't be as critical when you buy, and they have managed to confuse many people into thinking they are making donations when they are in fact making pre-purchases.
Its funny because whenever i bought a game in euro the conversion rate with USD was 1:1, so if a game was worth $60 bucks in US, it would be 60 euro in my country. When contacted, the publishers said its because of VAT.
Makes you wonder....
I'm guessing the main incentive of this VAT change is to stop companies like Apple, Amazon, Google etc that have been making prodigious use of tax avoidance schemes, double irish / sales office listed in low tax country and so on, it's hard to disagree with that side of it.
I'd rather pay a little bit more and see them pay their fair share of tax than the situation we have currently.
Nope. (though I think that has some tiny part in it).
The incentive is to prevent VAT fraud which grew into a pretty large issue during the last couple years (and it's a shame to admit but the last kick into the bucket was made by our corrupt f-tards who raised VAT here to 27%, hence create a prime target for the fraud). With this change a very large % of the frauds are nullified with a single strike.
Also it's not a notice-able change for the majority of the countries (with VATs around the average 18-20%), a few are even benefits from it (those with a low VAT), and a couple will pay more from now on.
I think it might be a bit more than a tiny part. Take Amazon, they paid a measly 0.1% tax on £4.3 billion in the UK last year.
With the change they don't get to route all their sales through an office in Luxembourg and thus claim low profits in the UK.
If 0.1% = £4.2 million, then 23% = £966 million...
With tiny I just ment the part of the incentive, not the amount
that's evasion, as in money not received. Tax fraud was actively hurt the budgets of the involved countries, so it was a more urgent issue to address. (involved not as active fraudsters of course.)
But I guess SC folks are not happy with us turning this thread into an economy one
I just wanted to say above, Feb 1 is an odd date since the new regulation is live since the start of 2015.
Haha, I'm sure that's true
>>> But I guess SC folks are not happy with us turning this thread into an economy one
>>>
As this is not a CIG forum but MMORPG.com you can talk about economy and VAT here as much as you want. And even on the official forum there are a lot of threads about it too ... with no interference from CIG.
Have fun