Tamas Rudnai wrote:

> The VAT system is quite ok for a company, as has a tax number so that you
> do not have to pay a VAT for those that you use as 'materia' or
> virtually anything that is for producing something. But currently I am
> doing it half way as a hobby, I am my own, no company. I thought that I
> can try something out, if I could slowly become a professional, so that
> try to make a little amount and then see how is that going on. If I were
> have money enough I would invest in it, so would make a small company
> and would pay other taxes than VAT :-)

I don't know how it is in Ireland, but when I started in Germany, I didn't
have to do anything special to get the "company VAT handling". I just
registered myself as a self-employed with the local tax authorities (free),
and started to submit my quarterly VAT balances. When I had a negative
balance, I got it back from the government. No other taxes, because the
only one there was was income tax, and as long as there is no income,
there's no income tax :)  

This of course doesn't work forever, but as long as the purchased items are
reasonable business expenses and investments and you don't take longer than
a year or so to have some influx, they accepted that without questioning.
You are not required to start out making money; they know that this may
take a bit. You have to make sure that it doesn't /look/ like a hobby,
though. Just show a professional attitude, have something of a plan and
give a bit about appearance (not your personal appearance, I mean the
business -- professional looking letterhead, doing your homework before
talking to the tax authorities etc).

FWIW, I have bought quantities around 20 or 50 from Microchip because they
were the best (cheapest, fastest) source. So it doesn't have to be
thousands. (That was for a destination in the USA.)

Gerhard

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