Google Overseas Subsidiaries Settle YouTuber Earnings in Dollars
Income Rises as Exchange Rates Soar... Expected to Continue for a While
As the exchange rate rises, it has been revealed that YouTubers' earnings are also increasing. Since YouTube income is calculated in dollars rather than Korean won, even if the number of views remains the same as usual, the actual perceived income significantly increases.
According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 2nd, it is known that YouTubers active in Korea have seen their income rise despite no significant changes in content views or subscriber numbers.
YouTubers can generate income through their channels if they have at least 1,000 subscribers and have recorded 4,000 hours of watch time in the previous year.
Google distributes YouTubers' earnings through its overseas subsidiary, Google Asia Pacific, rather than its Korean subsidiary, Google Korea. Monthly YouTube Premium subscription fees paid by domestic subscribers and domestic advertising revenue are also reported as sales of the Asia-Pacific subsidiary located in Singapore, not Google Korea. This is a common tax-saving strategy among global companies.
Revenue earned from U.S. viewers is subject to withholding tax in the United States. Google also instructs domestic YouTubers to submit U.S. tax information. The withholding tax rate is up to 30%, but domestic YouTubers receive a 10% rate under the Korea-U.S. tax treaty. If tax information is not submitted, up to 24% of total global income may be withheld.
The KRW-USD exchange rate rose to 1,391.5 won at the start of trading at the end of October, marking the first time in about three months since July 22 (intraday high of 1,390.0 won) that it reached the 1,390 won level during trading. Global investment banks expect the dollar to strengthen further due to risk aversion sentiment and geopolitical conflicts.
Accordingly, YouTubers' earnings are also expected to follow an upward trend for the time being.
Meanwhile, among domestic YouTubers, the top 10% reportedly earned annual incomes in the hundreds of millions of won last year. According to the office of Representative Park Seong-hoon, among one-person media content creators who rely on YouTube and TikTok creator activities as their main source of income, the top 10% earned 188 million won. The top 1% earned as much as 538 million won.
By age group, those under their 20s were the largest at 1,324 people, followed by those in their 30s with 1,071 people, 40s with 273 people, and 50s and older with 113 people.
Park Seong-hoon, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the People Power Party, pointed out at the comprehensive audit of the Planning and Finance Committee held on the 28th of last month, “In the case of donations received directly by exposing personal accounts during broadcasts, it is difficult to track transaction details, placing them in a tax blind spot.”
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