Adult platform OnlyFans has lost a case to the UK’s tax authorities, which ruled that it must pay VAT on the full amount content creators receive from customers, rather than just the 20% commission, Reuters reports.

Founded in 2016 and growing to more than 150 million users worldwide, the platform became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Fenix​​​​​​International Limited, the company that owns and operates OnlyFans, has been embroiled in a dispute with British authorities after London’s Inland Revenue ordered it to pay VAT on all money paid by customers between 2017 and 2020, and not only from the age of 20. % charged to content authors.

The company appealed to the UK court, which sought the opinion of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the highest court in the EU bloc.

The request was made before the UK officially leaves the EU in 2020.

However, the ECJ ruled on Wednesday that the UK’s provisions for implementing VAT rules for online platforms are valid and, as a platform operator, OnlyFans is the provider of the services offered and therefore must pay tax on the full amount received from the user.

But the judges ruled that this presumption could be rebutted if there was a “contractual understanding” between the parties. The CJEU’s decision is final and it is now up to a UK court to hear the case and make a decision.