Unity Asset Store account holders should be aware of a 'tax interview' message doing the rounds that might at first appear to be a scam. According to a
couple (Unity) of
sources (HumbleBundle) the email, from
publisher_inquiry@unity3d.com but routing through to
unity3d.taxidentity.com/Interview/AX8/en/start_1.aspx when the included link is clicked, is a legitimate request from Unity for tax information using
Tax Identity as a third-party data collection partner. The message appear to be sent to selected Unity Asset Store account holders regardless of there being any products available for purchase (email may not therefore, be received by all publishers).
Hello Unity Publisher,
Thank you for taking the time to read this message.
We are required by US law to obtain documentation prior to making certain payments, including payments to a foreign entity or individual. We have developed an user-friendly online tax interview that will help guide you to provide us with your tax information.
Please access the tax interview using the link below and complete the tax interview by December 31, 2018. Please note that, as per the Asset Store Provider Agreement, any and all future payments may be suspended if we do not receive your correct tax information by this date.
To help protect the security of your taxpayer information, please do not respond to this e-mail with your tax information or share it over the phone.
Please take the tax interview by clicking here [links to taxidentity.com].
In order to help us match the tax interview with your account, we ask that you enter your publisher ID shown below to the Publisher ID field within the tax interview. This field is found within the Profile page below the Email field. Please be sure to enter the publisher ID shown below. You will be asked to complete the tax interview again if you fail to enter the publisher ID correctly.
Your Publisher ID: [publisher ID]
This tax interview must be completed by the legal owner of the account. Please note that Unity uses Tax Identity Solutions LLC, a third-party tax provider, to receive and validate this additional documentation.
We have provided a tax interview FAQ that may provide answers to some of the questions you might have concerning this request for information and documents. If you have any further questions, please send your questions to publisher_inquiry@unity3d.com, an email alias set up only for questions on this topic.
Important Notice: None of the information in this document, nor any of the information resulting from your participation in the tax interview, constitutes or may be understood to constitute, any advice of any kind (whether legal, tax, or otherwise)s to you, your business, or your or your business’ tax structure or obligations, and you may not rely on it as such. Should you have any questions or concerns with respect to any of these matters, please contact your tax, legal, or other professional advisor.
Thank you for your assistance.
Team Unity
(
jpg image example)
The message appears to be notification/in response to Unity changing the way payouts are to be processed by a US entity rather than one based in the EU. As a result Tax Declarations are required (message from Unity should be available in the
Publisher Dashboard).
Hi [publisher],
This notification is to inform you of a change in Unity’s business operations. Effective January 1, 2019, we will move our ads selling entity from Finland to the U.S.
This is an internal change to streamline our business by having our contract signing entity reflect the currency (USD) in which we transact with publishers. The only change to your existing operations is that you will be paid by a U.S. entity moving forward. There may be tax implications of this change, as any taxes owed on earned revenue from Unity may be subject to U.S. regulation from 2019 onward. If you have any further questions on the tax implications of this change for your business, please consult with your tax advisor.
No action is required from you to continue operating your campaigns as you do today. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us at unityads-support@unity3d.comany time.
Thank you,
The Unity team