YouTube is warning creators around the world - including France - that they must now pass on the income from videos on the platform to it. The Alphabet subsidiary now has the obligation to deduct a tax on videos, proportional to the number of views achieved in the United States. In the absence of a declaration or in the event of forgetting, Google will automatically cut its payments to YouTubers, up to 24%.
Google is starting to warn creators around the world living outside the United States that it is now mandatory to declare tax information visible in AdSense, in order to levy a new tax on views made in the United States. A change in the law in 2018 introduced a new tax for non-residents of up to 30% on income earned in the United States and requires platforms to directly withhold withholding taxes. YouTube videos are visible all over the world, and even if they are a very small minority, there are a certain number of French speakers in the United States
Especially since on certain subjects, a video, even in a language that one does not understand, can be completely relevant. Suddenly, even a video made entirely in French may owe a significant number of views to viewers residing in the United States. In this case, no luck: that American income will be taxed, even if you had never had any connection with the IRS until now. Google adds that it is essential to make your declaration, otherwise the firm will arbitrarily apply a levy of up to 24% of the income from your monetized videos, even if none of them is in English. Here's a translation of the email Google is sending to creators right now
“We are contacting you as Google will be required to deduct US taxes from payments to creators based outside the US later this year (starting June 2021). Over the next few weeks, we'll ask you to provide us with your tax info in AdSense to determine the correct amount of tax to deduct, if applicable. If you don't send us your tax info by May 31, 2021, Google may have to deduct up to 24% of your total worldwide income ”
