Taxation of influencers: A double taxation or a non-double taxation issue?

Abstract: Although states have begun to regulate influencer activities in areas such as advertising and consumer protection, that is not the case in tax law. This research analyses various Tax Authority’s guidelines on the matter and concludes that the rules already in place in most jurisdictions are applied to influencers’ activities. This demonstrates that a tax system with solid foundations can adapt to new phenomena such as the boom of people making money from social media. This does not mean that some regulations are still needed, for example, there is doubt about how influencers receiving cryptocurrencies in exchange for their services should be taxed. That being said, the present research aims to contribute to the discussion of how influencers are taxed from a local and international perspective and determine if they are more exposed to double taxation due to the particularities of their activities. After introducing the main concepts that are needed to understand what an influencer is and how they make money, this document provides research on local and international tax consequences for them. In the former, a comparative study of tax law applied to influencers in different jurisdictions is made, while in the latter, an analysis of their activities under the provisions of the OECD model tax convention is provided.