A tributação das atividades do live game streaming: o streamer contribuinte

Abstract

Among the new cultural phenomenons empowered by networked technologies, the convergence of the game and video industry provided as a product the phenomenon of live game streaming, i.e., the live transmission of games through digital platforms. From this market, there was the rise of the streamer career, content creators who are monetized by video production, and thus become market players. Therefore, the platforms that enable live streaming activities constitute an interface that develops a chain of taxable practices, which flow from the company to the user, who is a taxable person. In the case of Brazilian streamers, they are fiscally liable both for the jurisdiction in which the company is based and for the country in which they have tax residence. Therefore, it is urgent to legally understand the activities of live game streaming, to subsequently determine the tax issues that surround the Brazilian streamer in face of the income provided by the platforms on which they perform. Moreover, it is important to find out whether there is an international double taxation. It should be mentioned that three North American platforms are being analyzed: Twitch, YouTube and Facebook, all in their gaming space. Consequently, the United States tax system is also the object of study. From this complex matter, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the taxation of live game streaming activities in Brazil from the point of view of the Brazilian content creator as a taxpayer not only nationally, but also before the U.S. tax authorities. In the end, the research aims to solve the following question: how is the taxation of live game streaming activities to the Brazilian streamer? To do so, the methodology of the work is exploratory, developed through a bibliographical survey, in a documentary bias of qualitative approach, and in an analytical-comparative way. The pertinence of the research is justified taking into consideration the situation of economic vulnerability of the Brazilian streamer before two taxing States. Given the tax obligations that lie on the person of the Brazilian content creator, the high tax burden on the activities of live game streaming in Brazil is evident.