
What is the DAC7 ?
DAC7 is an EU tax directive that requires digital platform operators in the EU to report revenue, personal, and business information about their providers to tax authorities once a year. It is the sixth amendment to the EU’s Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the field of taxation.
DAC7 defines a digital platform as any software (website or mobile application) that allows sellers to connect with other users to carry out a relevant commercial activity. This means online marketplaces from peer-to-peer product, service, and accommodation platforms to ride-hailing, car-pooling, and food delivery apps, among others.
The directive came into effect on January 1st, 2023.
Why you need to know
According to Mechanical Turk... " If we do not have your tax information by February 28, 2023, you may be ineligible to continue to use your Mturk Worker account, which could also result in withheld payments. "
So, the short answer is that if you want to continue working on mTurk, you have to fill it out.
What does Amazon actually say about this ?
I received the following email on 2/8/2023 from Amazon...
Hello,
The EU has recently implemented the DAC7 directive (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2021/514/oj) that requires us to report Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) Workers’ taxable income. While this directive is administered by the EU, it applies to all Workers on Mechanical Turk.
To comply with this directive, please complete a tax interview at this link (https://worker.mturk.com/account/taxinterview2) or by visiting the Mturk Worker website no later than February 28, 2023.
On the Mturk Worker website, you will notice a banner displayed on the page requesting your participation in a survey. If we do not have your tax information by February 28, 2023, you may be ineligible to continue to use your Mturk Worker account, which could also result in withheld payments.
You will be asked if you are registered to sell professional services on the MarketPlace or for AWS IQ, for the purposes of the survey the answer is ‘Yes’.
Please see below for Frequently Asked Questions. If you have any other questions or concerns please let us know by reaching out to our customer service team (mturk.com/contact-us).
Thank you,
Amazon Mechanical Turk Team
Mturk.com/contact-us
FAQ’s
Q: Who needs to complete this survey?
A: All Workers on Amazon Mechanical Turk.
Q: What does the process look like?
A: You will proceed to a form that requests tax identification information.
Q: What happens if an error occurs during the survey?
A: Please reach out to our Customer Support team at mturk.com/contact-us (http://mturk.com/contact-us) with a screenshot and details of the error (with any personally identifiable information from the survey removed)
Q: How long does the process take?
A: It should require no more than 5 to 10 minutes.
Q: What if I accidentally enter something incorrect?
A: At the conclusion of the survey you can click an option to retake the survey. If you have closed the survey window, you can click the link again and you will see the option to retake.
Q: What happens if my information cannot be verified?
A: If your information is correct you should receive verification. If you submitted your information incorrectly, you can retake the survey.
Q: Does this apply to me as someone outside of the EU?
A: Yes.
Q: My country isn’t included in the available countries drop-down during the tax interview questionnaire.
A: We’re working internally to ensure all countries are included, and you will be provided additional time to complete the interview. Please attempt the interview again in a few days’ time when your country may be added.
What they DON'T say...
Many workers attempting to follow the link to the "interview" are met only with a circling icon and a page that will not load.
There are multiple versions of this "interview"
The one I took only asked for my personal identification (name, address, SS#, etc.) and did NOT even ask if I was "registered to sell professional services on the MarketPlace".
Others report only the additional question of whether you are "registered to sell professional services on the MarketPlace"
Still others report a more comprehensive questionaire.
Now for the editorial portion of this story...my opinion
Should workers located outside the EU be forced to comply or face mTurk excommunication ?
No, but we are. (Granted...that's a pretty short editorial)
This process most likely would not survive a legal challenge as the EU has no right to impose restrictions upon US citizens NOT operating in their countries.
But, the bottom line is this...it is NOT the EU that is imposing this upon you...it is Amazon, a publicly traded corporation that can choose to do, or not do business with whomever they choose.
It's easier for them to carpet bomb their workers to comply with this EU directive than to handle this in a fashion more suitable to the needs of their workers.
So, fill it out...or stop working mTurk...we're still the small fish.
Oh, and by the way, we'll probably have to fill a version of this out every year from now on.
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