TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Finance is planning to amend tax rules to include earnings from social media platforms, including Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram, among others, similar to standards in other countries.

Earnings from virtual currency donations, an important revenue source for streamers, will be taxable in the future, a finance official told the state media.

Since the start of the pandemic, the creator economy has grown significantly on social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and Instragram. Financial officials in Taiwan are stepping up efforts to revise tax rules as more taxpayers begin reporting their earnings from social media.

The official said currently income made from channel memberships, advertising revenue, streaming donations, and merchandise, just like most other income, has been made taxable under the categories "individual's business income" or "income from professional practice" in some other nations.

The preliminary plan for Taiwan's tax authorities is to divide social media earnings into three main categories: individual income, income from professional practice (usually from being self-employed), and others.

Earnings from self-employed streamers or content creators in Taiwan should be applicable under "income from professional practice under the plan." The official added that some content creation production expenses like phone bills and purchasing equipment would be tax deductible accordingly.