Ocaasi (WMF)

Wie kann ich helfen?

Fringe benefit from De Gruyter

Dear Occaasi! On de:Wikipedia_Diskussion:De_Gruyter#Sachbezug I raised the question whether De Gruyter's offer of "free" access to its resources constitutes a en:fringe benefit an hence possibly taxable income for wikipedia users making use of De Gruyter's offer. Did you ever discuss this issue with De Gruyter or with legal experts?--Katakana-Peter (Diskussion) 11:08, 21. Okt. 2014 (CEST)

Hi Katakana-Peter! I am not a lawyer or accountant, so please don't take this as legal or tax advice. From my personal, individual understanding, fringe benefits only apply to employees not to volunteers. Since you are not paid to edit Wikipedia, this is not an issue any more than receiving free coffee at an editathon or free mobile access from Wikipedia Zero. If you are really concerned, you would need to check with a tax lawyer or accountant where you live. I have not consulted on this specific issue with Wikimedia Legal; however they are well aware of what The Wikipedia Library does and have never raised any tax concerns. Pinging Tbayer (WMF) just in case I'm missing some local context here :) Best, Jake Ocaasi (WMF) (Diskussion) 00:45, 13. Nov. 2014 (CET)

Thank you very much for your reply. I am not a legal expert myself, but DeGruyters "generous" offer is not to be compared to a cup of coffee. As a publisher, DeGruyter usually sells access to its resources to clients such as public libararies. In many European countries these libraries are financed by tax money and had to cancel subscription to publications in recent years due to financial restrictions. If publishers give away their products "for free" they will have to compensate this somewhere else, most likely by raising subscription prices. Most Wikipedians may be volunteers, but there is on proof they actually are. Tax investigators should keep this in mind.--Katakana-Peter (Diskussion) 05:58, 23. Nov. 2014 (CET)