Velona Ayuko
It’s bad news for YouTube content creators and talented video producers worldwide, including Kenya. Google-owned YouTube has announced it will deduct taxes from payments to creators outside of the US.
In an email to YouTubers, Google stated that an additional tax will be levied on non-US-based creators as early as June 2021. This change is likely to have a significant impact on the YouTube creator community.
Google will also levy taxes on YouTube earnings from viewers in the US on not just ad views, but also on YouTube Premium, Super Chat, Super Stickers, and channel memberships.
The following was written in the email sent to YouTube creators informing them of the payments; “We’re reaching out because Google will be required to deduct U.S. taxes from payments to creators outside of the U.S. later this year (as early as June 2021). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be asking you to submit your tax info in AdSense to determine the correct amount of taxes to deduct, if any apply. If your tax info isn’t provided by May 31st, 2021, Google may be required to deduct up to 24% of your total earnings worldwide.”
YouTube creators monetize their posts using the AdSense service, which allows them to earn a percentage of ad revenue generated by their videos.
“Google has a responsibility under Chapter 3 of the US Internal Revenue Code to collect tax info from all monetizing creators outside of the US and deduct taxes in certain instances when they earn income from viewers in the US,” wrote Google in their statement, adding that tax would be deducted from content targeting US viewers.
By 2020, there were be over 37 million YouTubers earning a living from the platform. With over 2 billion active users monthly, the tech giant has a wide audience.
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