Something that’s been on my “to-do” list for quite a while has been to contact the U.S. Infernal Revenue Service to register for an EIN (Employer Identification Number). I needed this so I could claim my treaty rights of being exempt from U.S. taxes for selling my writing through Amazon. Otherwise I’d have to pay 30% in tax to the U.S.as well as Canadian income tax!
Both my wife and I have spent hours researching this and gathering information to try make the process as easy as possible and we had all this prepared a couple of months ago. This was delayed by my reticence to call them (who voluntarily wants to draw attention to themselves with the tax man?), plus my eccentric, almost pathological, fear of talking to bureaucrats in general. On top of that, I also had the trauma of my recent surgery with the prospect of far more serious amputation to come. No surprise really that it got delayed!
After being on hold for two hours (two separate calls) and going through the tortuous information gathering exercise, I finally got my EIN and felt pretty good about it I can tell you. Another somewhat lesser victory, but a significant one as it represents the last piece of red tape we need to do before going “live.”
A little later, after overcoming my giddiness at being all “official,” I went to the Kindle Direct site to update my information with grubby EIN in-hand, ready for the release.
Well, wouldn’t you know it? Amazon has now changed it’s process; recognising the Canadian SIN (Social Insurance Number) and assigning you the correct tax rate (0%) automatically. Not only that, it now refuses to even let me enter my bloody EIN because I’m outside the U.S.! After all that effort, that’s a low blow I’d say – though I’m not complaining too much 🙂
So I’m all set on the logistics side of things, just a few more odds and ends to prepare and then the first of my eBooks will be launched. This event will be accompanied by great fanfare and will undoubtedly become one of Amazon’s best sellers overnight! 😉
The first one is a short story called “How much is that doggy?” I hope you’ll enjoy it. And remember it’s getting close to Christmas…
