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Comment by l5870uoo9y | Hacker News Reader

> Nine months after our public launch in 2021, we surpassed $1M in ARR and never looked back.

Stripe is buying a lucrative business, but more importantly it is buying the complex knowhow of running an international tax-compliant merchant of record. They can then integrate this into their product. I switched to LemonSqueezy primarily out of concern for EU-wide tax ramifications (EU strikes again). Is there a reason to choose LemonSqueezy over Stripe if you are located in the US? There hasn't been a single VAT-compliance case to my knowledge and the need for MoR is unclear.

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I've never understood the notion that US based companies have it easier. They still to pay applicable tax in every country/state that their customers reside.

If anything, EU companies have it slightly easier because they can file all of their EU-based taxes using One Stop Shop.

You can do Non-Union OSS as a US company as well. I’d say the most annoying thing about the EU is their minimum transaction to start filing is very low compared to US Nexus rules.

Why don't they then? I've been trying to tell US merchants they can literally get free EU customers by registering for IOSS and the most I've gotten is a shrug.

Many of us are willing to pay for shipping and taxes up front just so their products don't get caught in the "free money for us" exploitation racket that is EU customs.

Which merchants and for what kind of product?

> Is there a reason to choose LemonSqueezy over Stripe if you are located in the US? There hasn't been a single VAT-compliance case to my knowledge and the need for MoR is unclear.

It's not just the EU that charges VAT (or VAT-like taxes).

Most countries (and in the US's case, subregions within) charge some form of sales tax that's a pain to manage yourself if you're not a huge operation.

Always good to comply with tax laws (if not for the obviously good moral/ethical reasons, then definitely for legal reasons!)

In addition to the overall benefits of not having non-compete agreements, California's software startup ecosystem also benefits from not having to deal with charging sales tax when selling SaaS[1][2]

[1] https://www.taxjar.com/blog/saas-california-sales-tax [2] https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/vol1/sutr/1502.html

If they are selling SaaS to an entity in California. Which is the same for anyone selling SaaS to an entity in California, regardless of where the seller is located. I do not see why this would give California a competitive advantage in where a business's employees are located.

US states have a minimum threshold of $100,000 and upwards so you can be compliant without having to worry about it until you start making larger revenue. Most startups never reach these generous thresholds in the first place.

As I understand it the threshold is usually $100,000 in revenue or 200 transactions (following the Wayfair decision), the latter of which is easily reached...

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