Post by dgriffin on Feb 15, 2008 21:27:53 GMT -5
Danish Sperm Bank Deposits to Remain Tax-Free and Anonymous
By Daryl Lindsey in Today's Der Speigel - On Line, Germany
For a while, it seemed the stream of male students visiting the Cryos sperm bank in Aarhus, Denmark might dry up. But a recent decision by the Danish Tax Ministry means that donors can remain anonymous and won't be forced to report their earnings to the tax man.
For the better part of two decades, young men could step into the offices of Denmark's largest sperm bank in Aarhus and make a deposit. For their trouble, and depending on the quality and quantity of his semen, the average Lars, Anders or Niels could earn anywhere from 267 to 500 crowns (€36 to €67) for a few minutes of his trouble. A perfect way for a cash-strapped student to earn book money.
It was also, the government thought, a great way for the state to earn a bit of extra money. In 2004, the Danish Tax Ministry began an offensive that threatened to tax sperm donors -- thereby eliminating anonymity and endangering the supply of donors coming through the doors. Indeed, it is only now, after long negotiations with the government and a decision by the Tax Ministry to allow donors to remain anonymous that Cryos International, one of the world's leading sperm banks, can breathe a sigh of relief.
The problems started when Tax Ministry officials decided that donating sperm should be considered the same as any other taxable labor -- no different from pulling a pint or working as a soda jerk. But the reporting requirement would have required donors to register by name. Furthermore, for students, who make up the bulk of sperm donors in Denmark, reporting those earnings might have meant a loss of student loans and other subsidies.
Although fees paid by sperm banks in Denmark to donors had always been tax deductible, in 2004 the Tax Office moved to force banks to report the names of donors who had received the payments. The Tax Office has now dropped that requirement. Technically, sperm donors are required to claim such payments on their taxes, but the new system relies on good-faith and has no controls in place to conduct witch hunts of sperm donors who don't declare their earnings
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Beer money, I guess.
By Daryl Lindsey in Today's Der Speigel - On Line, Germany
For a while, it seemed the stream of male students visiting the Cryos sperm bank in Aarhus, Denmark might dry up. But a recent decision by the Danish Tax Ministry means that donors can remain anonymous and won't be forced to report their earnings to the tax man.
For the better part of two decades, young men could step into the offices of Denmark's largest sperm bank in Aarhus and make a deposit. For their trouble, and depending on the quality and quantity of his semen, the average Lars, Anders or Niels could earn anywhere from 267 to 500 crowns (€36 to €67) for a few minutes of his trouble. A perfect way for a cash-strapped student to earn book money.
It was also, the government thought, a great way for the state to earn a bit of extra money. In 2004, the Danish Tax Ministry began an offensive that threatened to tax sperm donors -- thereby eliminating anonymity and endangering the supply of donors coming through the doors. Indeed, it is only now, after long negotiations with the government and a decision by the Tax Ministry to allow donors to remain anonymous that Cryos International, one of the world's leading sperm banks, can breathe a sigh of relief.
The problems started when Tax Ministry officials decided that donating sperm should be considered the same as any other taxable labor -- no different from pulling a pint or working as a soda jerk. But the reporting requirement would have required donors to register by name. Furthermore, for students, who make up the bulk of sperm donors in Denmark, reporting those earnings might have meant a loss of student loans and other subsidies.
Although fees paid by sperm banks in Denmark to donors had always been tax deductible, in 2004 the Tax Office moved to force banks to report the names of donors who had received the payments. The Tax Office has now dropped that requirement. Technically, sperm donors are required to claim such payments on their taxes, but the new system relies on good-faith and has no controls in place to conduct witch hunts of sperm donors who don't declare their earnings
###
Beer money, I guess.
