>>employer identification number, which the IRS will issue to a foreign entity
oh god I hope this doesn't catch on & become a trend. I'm OK with the tax authority in my home country...but dealing with them for every country I digitally interact with is not OK. :/
Indeed. My point is that this goes both ways. US citizens might not feel the IRS asking for info is a big deal, but how about if SARS ask for you info? Haven't heard of SARS?...to bad...you wandered onto their turf in your digital adventures. Good luck figuring out which country you're dealing with. Oh and they totally require you to pay the relevant fees in person in cash on site once you figure out who they are.
See why I'm less than delighted with this "register with local tax authority of the relevant site" story?
>>employer identification number, which the IRS will issue to a foreign entity
oh god I hope this doesn't catch on & become a trend. I'm OK with the tax authority in my home country...but dealing with them for every country I digitally interact with is not OK. :/