New reporting requirements for trading platforms through the PStTG

I would imagine that many trading platform operators have not yet heard of the Platform Tax Transparency Act, which has been in effect since January 1. This law regulates the reporting obligation of platform operators and the automatic exchange of information based on Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011 on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation and repealing Directive 77/799/EEC, as amended by Directive (EU) 2021/514. At least, these are the first words in this possibly very relevant law.

Key Facts

The Platform Tax Transparency Act (PStTG ) has applied to operators of online platforms since January 1.
These platforms enable sellers to get in touch with buyers and carry out relevant activities.
This does not apply to platforms that only offer payment processing or transaction advertising.
Operators must report the name, address and tax number of the seller.
In addition, sales, fees and commissions must be reported and checked for accuracy.
Exceptions only apply to private sellers with less than 30 relevant activities and EUR 2,000 remuneration.
Operators should check promptly whether they are affected by the reporting obligations.

If you operate an online platform and sellers have the opportunity to contact potential buyers and perform so-called relevant activities, you are basically affected by the PStTG. This includes in particular the rental of real estate, the rental of any means of transport, the provision of personal services and the sale of goods. Not affected are only online portals that only process payments made in connection with a relevant activity (mostly probably payment providers) . Also not affected are platforms that only offer the listing of a relevant activity or the advertising of a relevant activity by users (classifieds portal, etc. that do not include the processing of the transaction) or that only have the redirection or forwarding of users to a platform as their content (among others, probably e.g. price search engines).

Among other things, the tax authorities must be notified of the name, address and tax number of the seller, as well as, under certain conditions, the owner and identifier of the financial account. In addition, platforms must report individually generated revenues and activities. Separately disclose any fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged as fees r. It is also important to note that one is obligated to check the collected information for accuracy and plausibility and to correct it if necessary. The obligation therefore applies to almost all providers, because one is exempt, among other things, only if in the reporting period using the same platform in less than 30 cases relevant activities were provided and thus in total less than 2,000 euros were paid or credited as remuneration. As a rule, this should only affect genuine private sellers.

It is therefore advisable to check promptly whether one follows under the obligations and what now everything must be recorded.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.