Will my illustrator in Switzerland owe U.S. taxes?

Post date: 2020-03-27 14:23:12

You are not my tax professional. I am paying a substantial amount for illustration to a Swiss citizen, well above the tax liability cutoff for freelance work in the U.S. Does she need to pay U.S. taxes on it, or only Swiss?

Because of the current state of publishing, if I want illustrations in my book I am paying for them out of pocket. That's okay (or anyway it was okay before we hit a potentially historic depression and I started feeling a lot of anxiety about spending this much of my advance but OH WELL), but it means that I don't really have the support of an accounting department in figuring out stuff like this.

The illustrator is a Swiss citizen living in Switzerland. The amount of money is substantial to me but negligible on the scale of international trade—think more than $1000 but less than $5000. My understanding of this document about the U.S./Swiss tax treaty is that contracted illustration falls under "independent personal services" and that because she has no "fixed base" in this country (U.S. residency, office, or presence) she would be exempt from U.S. taxes. But I also really don't want to steer her wrong or get either of us in trouble! Can someone with a better head for this language set my mind at ease?

I know you are not my tax professional/international treaty interpreter/Swiss person with experience doing international freelance work! But I am pretty sure the answer to this is straightforward and contained in the document linked, and I'd rather not pay more out of pocket for pro advice.

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