Taxes & The Sheriff of Nottingham

Hey folks, I just found out that Patreon will start charging some of you sales taxes starting July 1st. Not everyone will be charged, from the sounds of it. Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up that the Sheriff of Nottingham has arrived.

But the Band of Merry Men still remains strong. (Yeah, I don't know if that metaphor completely makes sense...)

FWIW, this is Patreon's official message they suggested creators share with their patrons, if you're interested:

EDIT: I just read some of this, and it's kind of humorous. Adding some comments below in brackets [ ]... lol

Hi everyone,

I wanted to give you an update on some changes that we’ll be seeing which may affect some of your pledges. Due to new laws passing in several countries and US states, Patreon will be required to start charging sales tax on some pledges starting July 1st. 

Less than half of all patrons will be charged sales tax, and for most, the amount will be very small. For example, sales tax rates in the US range from 4% to 11%, so on a $5 pledge, that would be between 20 cents and 55 cents. [Is an 11% tax small??? I think not.]

Whether or not you will be charged sales tax depends on your location, and what is considered taxable there. Not every pledge is taxable, not all benefits are taxable in every location, and sometimes only a fraction of a pledge will be taxable. The money that Patreon collects as a result of these laws are paid directly to local governments.

I’m working closely with Patreon to ensure I’m able to save you as much money as possible when it comes to sales tax - which is not something that’s possible with other platforms. [And that's just blatantly untrue. I have absolutely no control over this, nor was I consulted. Even if I were to try to contact them, I'd likely get nothing more than a polite "sorry our hands are tied" response.]

If you’re in a location where sales tax will be required, you should expect to receive an email from Patreon with more information about this very soon, but I wanted to make sure you were aware of these changes way ahead of July 1st when they go into effect. 

If you have questions, you should be able to find answers here. If you still have questions, the best place to get an answer is from Patreon’s customer support team, here. 

Thank you for all of your support. [This part I actually agree with. I love you all for your generosity!]