Google to begin collecting tax-related info today

[fishfreek]

The day has come. We all knew as of last month that sometime in Nov Google would require all subscribers to fill out tax information. When you login to your adsense account as of today you will be presented with a nice simple wizard to walk you thru the filling out of the tax forms.

Remember failure to fill out this information WILL cause delay in your adsense payments.

Below is a copy of the e-mail I recived that everyone else should have gotten as well. As you can see they are basicly giving everyone 15-16 days to fill this information out before they start withholding payments.

Hello,


Starting today, Google will begin collecting tax-related
information from all AdSense publishers. Please read below for
more information on this process, and to learn how to contact us
with any questions.


SUBMITTING YOUR INFORMATION


Upon logging in to your AdSense account, you will be presented
with the new ?Tax information? page. This page is designed to
make submitting your tax information as simple as possible.


A wizard-style interface will help you to choose the tax forms
that are appropriate to your situation, or direct links are also
available. Most of these forms can be submitted online from
within your publisher account. If you choose not to submit your
information immediately, you can also access the ?Tax
information? page from the link below the ?Account information?
tab.


IMPORTANT PAYMENT INFORMATION


The deadline for submitting your tax information is November 30,
2003. If we haven?t received your forms by that date Google will
hold further payments to you until you have submitted your tax
information. This hold will include payments for earnings accrued
in November in accordance with the Google AdSense Online Program
Agreement, which are scheduled to be processed and paid out near
the end of December.


If your payment is held, you?ll still have access to your AdSense
account, and earnings will continue to accrue in accordance with
the Google AdSense Online Program Agreement. Once you?ve
submitted your forms, all payments that are due to you under the
Google AdSense Online Program Agreement will be paid. Google
will make every effort to make such payments in the first payment
cycle following your submission of these forms (provided that you
have met the $100 earnings threshold referenced in the Google
AdSense Online Program Agreement).


CONTACT US


More details are available on the ?Google AdSense: Tax
Information? webpage (https://www.google.com/adsense/tax_info).


Please also feel free to contact us at adsense-support@google.com
with any questions or comments. Your tax information is being
collected in compliance with United States tax laws, will be
securely stored, and will be used for tax purposes only. For more
information, please read our Privacy Policy
(http://www.google.com/privacy.html).

Sincerely,


The Google Team



IMPORTANT NOTE: The tax collection interface and any tax-related
information provided by Google is not intended as and should not
be construed as legal, tax, or investment advice. You should
always consult your tax advisor to help answer specific questions
regarding how tax laws apply to you and/or your business. The tax
summary we have provided is necessarily incomplete, and the tax
laws and regulations are subject to change. Therefore, Google
does not guarantee and is not liable for the accuracy or
completeness of any tax information provided, or any results or
outcome as a result of the use of this information.

[PhilC]

I filled my form in - nothing in the U.S. so it was easy

[I, Brian]

Originally Posted by PhilC

I filled my form in - nothing in the U.S. so it was easy

If it's collected in compliance with US Tax Law, then wouldn't even UK cits need to fill in a declaration form?

I remember going through all this a few years back at mp3.com - even though I've never been a US cit, I still needed to fill in a particular declaration, no least because the USA and UK have a particular arrangement with how tax is dealt with. Can't remember the name of the form offhand, and won't be able to look for it until tomorrow at the earliest.

[burgi82]

Originally Posted by PhilC

I filled my form in - nothing in the U.S. so it was easy

same here. Nothing in the US, so it was very easy. I like it.

[PhilC]

The form I filled in was a declaration - just typed my name into the box and clicked submit - that was it.

[Rob]

Never mind what I said here

[I, Brian]

Amazing - I went to find my online banking details, and stumbled directly on my old mp3.com tax info.

It basically states: "All non-resident of the United States earning "artistic work" royalties are to complete US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-8ben."

I guess webmaster advertising isn't concerned an artisitc pursuit.

[edbarton]

It was easy enough for me I guess. So glad I am not based in the US.