VAT Moss API
Web and SaaS
tax calculation api
SHOW HN2017
How HN took it
0 positive, 10 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 19 critical, out of 30 comments about the project. Thread score -0.48.
Execution: 0 for, 8 againstIdea: 0 for, 5 againstDocs: 0 for, 2 againstDesign: 0 for, 2 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Open sourcing the code and effort appreciated
From 1 comment
While the effort in general should be appreciated (especially open sourcing the code!), I'm doubtful that the REST API has practical use. "I calculated the VAT for the products…
ckastner on HN
Useful for small EU businesses wanting to sell across the EU
From 1 comment
The barrier of running an EU B2C business is so high if you need to sell all over EU that most of the time it doesn't even make sense. It's a shame because if you're in the EU…
agopaul on HN
Objections
Ignores B2B versus B2C distinction and product-specific rates
From 3 comments
How about different rates for different goods / services? This looks like a gross oversimplification. Doing VAT correctly is quite hard - there is a reason why there are…
kk_cz on HNThis does not make the distinction between consumers and corporate (VAT registered) customers nor does it make a distinction between services and goods (and various classes of…
jacquesm on HNYou should specify a bit more clearly (it's on the bottom though) that this is for B2C. B2B different rules apply.
thiscatis2 on HN
Liability risk and unclear data sources
From 2 comments
While the effort in general should be appreciated (especially open sourcing the code!), I'm doubtful that the REST API has practical use. "I calculated the VAT for the products…
ckastner on HNThe EU administration itself or the national tax authorities in the EU should have provided an official service like this to go with the VAT changes for digital sales from day…
Silhouette on HN
Wrong rate for some countries such as Ireland and Netherlands
From 2 comments
That won't work in Ireland. While 23% is the headline rate, it's not the only rate: https://www.taxworld.ie/vat/summary/vat-rates/
talideon on HNCorrect, but you're not required to pay the local (Dutch) VAT, so the seller doesn't have to collect it. This tool shows the Dutch VAT rate (0.21) for all buyer countries, which…
timvdalen on HN
Privacy concerns about sending business data
From 1 comment
While this is a great way for you to collect internal business numbers from other companies, I don't quite see how the benefit for those companies is so large that it warrants…
vog on HN
Requests
Release the source code
From 2 comments
This shouldn't be an API. It should be a query library and a dataset you can download with a batch job. Please consider releasing the source code.
mike-cardwell on HNThe EU administration itself or the national tax authorities in the EU should have provided an official service like this to go with the VAT changes for digital sales from day…
Silhouette on HN
Provide a dataset or query library instead of an API
From 1 comment
This shouldn't be an API. It should be a query library and a dataset you can download with a batch job. Please consider releasing the source code.
mike-cardwell on HN
Add a note on sources and update frequency
From 1 comment
The EU administration itself or the national tax authorities in the EU should have provided an official service like this to go with the VAT changes for digital sales from day…
Silhouette on HN
Questions
Why ask for the seller's country
From 2 comments
Is there any reason to ask for the country of the business/seller? As far as I know it's irrelevant and the VAT only depends on the buyer's country (for digital goods/services).
thirdsun on HNSo why ask for the country of the seller in the API? I wondered the same thing. I'm not aware of any circumstances under which it would make a difference that are still affected…
Silhouette on HN
Why use POST
From 1 comment
Why use POST?
sajal83 on HN
Alternatives named
VIES VAT ID verification service
From 1 comment
Something similar, but not the same: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/technicalInformation.html Official Europe VAT Verification Service endpoint ( docs ) Edit: for…
NicoJuicy on HN
european_vat Elixir library
From 1 comment
I was looking into this recently and found this for Elixir, it looks good: https://github.com/xavier/european_vat
andy_ppp on HN
TaxJar API
From 1 comment
Complex sales tax almost seems inevitable, there are lots of similar services in the US, like https://www.taxjar.com/api/. One of the things regulators want from a tax code is to…
MatthewWilkes on HN