Taxes & Law

DAC7: For more tax justice on trading platforms

Nadja Müller

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Book your next vacation including hotel, rental car and matching outfits: Goods and services are always just a click away. They are sold on digital platforms. However, EU member states are losing out on billions of euros in taxes every year because internet companies are not reporting their e-commerce turnover. As part of the DAC7 EU Directive and the resulting Platforms Tax Transparency Act (PStTG), digital platforms have therefore been more closely integrated into the tax system since January 2023. Documentation obligation taken.

Optimize data exchange between online platforms and authorities

In order to close taxation gaps, platform operators with their registered office, place of management or permanent establishment within the EU are obliged to report income from providers to the competent tax authorities. EU member states are thus implementing the so-called DAC7 Directive. This is intended to ensure transparency regarding business activities on digital platforms and make it possible to assess transactions for tax purposes.

The term "digital platforms" is deliberately defined more broadly to cover software, websites or mobile applications that enable sellers to connect directly or indirectly with potential buyers and carry out so-called "relevant activities". The EU and Germany focus primarily on e-commerce platforms. These include, in particular, the rental of real estate, "ridesharing", the provision of personal services and the sale of goods.

What exactly does this mean for my e-commerce company and for me as an online retailer?

To put it in a nutshell: Exchange of information. This is because the directive obliges e-commerce companies to disclose extensive information on transactions, income and sellers on the respective platforms and to pass this on to the relevant tax authorities. A summary of this information must then be reported to the national tax authorities once a year in the form of an annual declaration in order to enable a tax assessment of the transactions.

As a general rule, all commercial users and retailers must be reported by the platforms to the Federal Central Tax Office with an overview of the sales made. This mainly affects platforms such as eBay, Amazon, Airbnb and Facebook Marketplace. However, there are certain basic requirements that must be met by private sellers before the data is forwarded to the tax office: The Tax Transparency Act only applies to private sellers if more than 30 sales and more than 2,000 euros in sales revenue have been generated per calendar year. In this case, the following seller data is reported to the tax office:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Bank details
  • Tax ID
  • Sales revenue, as well as fees and commissions of the respective platform

News and registration deadline 2025

Platform operators must submit their report for 2024 to the Federal Central Tax Office by January 31, 2025. As things stand at present, no extension of the deadline for submitting the report is guaranteed. Compared to the previous year, there are only a few changes in terms of content: However, operators must take into account in particular that they must report reporting data from providers who have several accounts on the platform on a consolidated basis. In addition, platforms - even if they are used exclusively by users who are not required to report - must review their reporting obligation. Only an official determination in accordance with Section 11 PStTG confirms that the obligation to report no longer applies.

It is not possible to upload data manually; as in the previous year, platform operators must set up and use the electronic interface to the BZSt. For further information on the Platform Tax Transparency Act, you can visit inform here.