For the purpose of income taxes, the general rules according to legal form and type of income apply.
For VAT purposes, the term must be defined. Transactions in which the electronic medium is only an intermediary, but does not form a distribution structure, follow the traditional principles of taxation for supplies and other services.
In the absence of physical checks at the internal and external borders of the Community, only the principles governing the taxation of services can apply to transactions carried out by electronic means. Their taxation principles follow the basic rule in the business sector.
The place of taxation is the place of residence of the principal, who must also assume the tax liability under the reverse charge system. For transactions to individuals established in the Community and other non-taxable customers, the place of destination principle is also applied above a minor threshold whereby both third-country and EU providers can fulfil their tax obligations via a central point of contact (electronic portal) (so-called OSS procedure). Since 2019, Germany has introduced additional record-keeping and liability obligations for operators of electronic marketplaces.