- The article discusses the VAT treatment of additional compensation for previously transferred copyrights in the context of screenwriters.
- A change in copyright law allows authors to receive fair and success-dependent compensation for their works.
- In 2014, various professional associations reached an agreement with broadcasters on compensation rules for fictional programs.
- The article raises the question of how subsequent success-related compensation for authors should be treated for VAT purposes.
- A case involved a screenwriter who entered into contracts with film producers, transferring usage rights of his works.
- The screenwriter initially invoiced the broadcaster for his subsequent revenue share without VAT, but the tax office later assessed VAT at 19%, which was corrected to 7%.
- The reduced VAT rate applies to the transfer of usage rights under specific tax regulations.
- Public broadcasters typically do not have input tax deduction rights, making them burdened by both the new compensation and the associated VAT.
- The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) ruled that success-related additional compensation is directly linked to the original contractual relationship and qualifies for the reduced VAT rate.
- Reference to the BFH ruling dated May 8, 2024 (XI R 16/20) for further details.
Source: nwb-experten-blog.de
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
