[SabrinaDent]

However, I have never seen non-EU based companies do this. Why is that?

iStock charges VAT based on billing residency. So does Big Fish Games. That's just where I've spent money today, so yeah, it's common.

[jibjab]

Hmm, so I guess the thresholds Patio11 mentioned exist.

iStock and Big Fish Games are very large companies with several offices around the world and a large share of B2C sales, so they started charging VAT.

Apparently, most SAAS companies don't make these thresholds, not even the larger ones, as github/slicehost/37signals/mailchimp/and many more don't charge VAT at all...

I still wonder what those thresholds are though..