Taxes and the RSI Pledge Store

Why is RSI collecting tax on pledges? 

Taxes are collected in accordance with government regulations dependent upon your primary place of residence.

What type of taxes are being imposed? 

Most common types of tax are sales tax within the US, Value-Added Tax (VAT) for EU, UK, Norway, South Africa, Russia, New Zealand, Switzerland, South Korea, and Japan. As well as Goods and Services Tax (GST) for citizens of Australia.  

I am a resident of the UK (United Kingdom), do I pay VAT? 

Yes, VAT is paid through the UK VAT Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS) system and hence it is handled through the pledge transaction process.  If you have questions about VAT, you may be able to find the answer to it within the following documentation: 

 Guide to UK VAT Mini One Stop Shop   

I am a resident of the EU (European Union), do I pay VAT? 

Yes, VAT is paid through the MOSS system for EU residents as well and hence it is handled through the pledge transaction process.  If you have questions about VAT, you may be able to find the answer to it within the following documentation: 

 Guide to EU VAT Mini One Stop Shop  

I am a resident of Australia, do I pay GST? 

Yes, on July 1, 2017, Australia imposed 10% GST on the sale of electronic/digital services by non-resident providers to its consumers. The enacting legislation is the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No 1) Bill 2016.  You may find more information regarding how this tax is collected by visiting: 

 GST on Imported Services and Digital Products 

I moved to a new state (within US) and now I have to pay sales tax. How come? 

Not all states will require sales tax to be collected.  

As of the end of 2018, 34 states adopted laws or regulations requiring online merchants to collect state sales tax on remote sales made to state residents, and several others are in the process of following suit. 

Five states do not collect any state sales tax: New Hampshire, Delaware, Montana, Oregon, and Alaska.  Check with your local state government for additional questions. 

As with any address change, to ensure the proper tax rate is being applied make sure to update your billing address with your credit card company before making your purchase.

I’m a resident of Norway and wasn’t previously charged tax. What changed? 

As of August 1, 2020, a 25% VAT on E-Commerce (VOEC) is being collected via the VOEC system. This was largely due to a mandate going into effect for Norway residents regarding international digital sales. 

If you have questions about VAT, you may be able to find the answer to it within the following documentation: 

VAT on E-Commerce Information  

My order is being charged tax based on my billing address, but my primary residence is elsewhere. 

You will need to contact your credit card company to update your billing information before placing an order.  The tax will be figured based on the billing address associated with your payment method.  

I claim a tax-exempt status.  How do I recoup the collected taxes? 

This should be addressed when filing your tax documents each year.  Petition for a refund when you submit your tax return. We do not collect tax-exempt ID information to waive the tax at the time of checkout. You can locate our business number on your invoice for tax purposes.   

I reclaimed a pledge but didn’t receive the full amount in store credit. What gives? 

RSI does not see any of the tax dollars and such payments will not be added to the value of the pledges themselves.  Therefore, reclaiming a pledge will only ever return the base value paid for the pledge itself as tax payments are not counted as part of the pledge price. 

Should you elect to refund your pledge instead, the full amount of the order, including any tax paid, will be refunded to your payment account used.