nlnet.mdwn

   1 # NLNet
   2
   3 With many thanks to <http://nlnet.nl> there are six inter-related grants,
   4 documented at the [[nlnet_proposals]] page.
   5
   6 NLNet is a Foundation and so does not have employees or enter into "work
   7 for hire" agreements.  It also will not give money to Corporations
   8 (or, it will, but at a rate which does not include payment of Corporation
   9 insurance, tax etc.): only to Universities, individuals, and other
  10 Foundations.
  11
  12 They have an extremely knowledgeable International Tax Law specialist
  13 who has negotiated tax agreements with most countries in the world and
  14 consequently, subject to your Accountant checking with the law in your
  15 country, donations - and they are charitable donations - are extremely
  16 likely to be 100% tax-deductible.
  17
  18 The process is as follows:
  19
  20 * Proposals are submitted, reviewed, independently audited and (sometimes)
  21   approved.
  22 * Accepted proposals submit a Project Plan listing a set of milestones,
  23   each of which has a fixed budget associated with it (note: not an
  24   hourly rate!)
  25 * The Project Plan becomes part of a Memorandum of Understanding, signed
  26   by the team (note: not a contract!)
  27 * On 100% completion of tasks *or subtasks* (which must add up ultimately
  28   to the total allocated budget) after approval by the project leader,
  29   an rfp (Request for Payment) is submitted by email to nlnet.
  30 * The rfp is paid directly by bank transfer from NLNet
  31   *not by the Libre-SOC project*
  32
  33 Note that the lack of hourly rate and the lack of contractual obligation
  34 is what enables this to be considered charitable donations (and why
  35 Corporations may not be paid or involved).
  36
  37 This lack of contractual obligation also means that if the work is not
  38 done, then there is no penalty (for you). The only thing that happens
  39 is we grumble a bit and have to find someone else to do the work.
  40
  41 It is **your responsibility** to comply with local law and to consult an
  42 Accountant. Your Accountant will be able to confirm the International
  43 Tax Agreements, from the details and/or contact information on NLNet's
  44 website <https://nlnet.nl/foundation/ANBI.html>.  If you are not familiar
  45 with this, or if your Accountant is unfamiliar with International Tax
  46 Agreements, please contact us, and we can put your Accountant in touch
  47 with Bob Goudriaan, the Finance Director of NLnet who specialises in
  48 International Tax Law.  Bob can explain the details to your Accountant;
  49 your Accountant can explain it to you.
  50
  51
  52 # NLNet LibreSOC Top-level
  53
  54 * 2019-02-012 Core <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=191>
  55 * 2019-10-043 Wishbone <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=175>
  56 * 2019-10-031 Video <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=137>
  57 * 2019-10-029 Coriolis2 <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=138>
  58 * 2019-10-042 MESA <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=140>
  59 * 2019-10-032 Proofs <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=158>
  60 * 2019-10-046 Standards <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=174>
  61
  62 # NLNet new members onboarding FAQ <a id="faq">
  63
  64 This FAQ is written to assist people in understanding the key difference
  65 between being "financially rewarded with charitable donations" and
  66 "a job / contract / work-for-hire agreement".
  67
  68 * Q: I heard that NLnet is EU funded, I am not in the EU therefore I
  69   cannot help?
  70  - A: we get this a lot: it is wrong.  NLnet is quite happy to give
  71       donations for work done by people outside of the EU, for the PET
  72       Programme tasks (http://nlnet.nl/pet).  The "Assure" Programme
  73       is slightly different.
  74 * Q: I work for a company, can my company receive donations?
  75  - A: of course!  Just bear in mind that NLnet will not pay your employer's
  76       Corporation Tax contributions (because NLnet is a Charitable
  77       Foundation).
  78 * Q: So I start work on a bug: do I get paid "per hour"?
  79  - A: No.  NLnet's donations are for "results" (Milestones) not time.
  80       This avoids NLnet being, for example, qualified under local law
  81       (e.g. UK IR35) as an "employer" (which would interfere with their
  82       status and responsibilities as a Charitable Foundation).
  83 * Q: What if I don't complete the work?
  84  - A: then you can't submit a Request for Payment.
  85 * Q: Are there any penalties or consequences for me if I don't?
  86  - A: No.  there's no contract (it's a Memorandum of Understanding), so
  87       no penalties.  You just don't get the associated "gift / donation".
  88 * Q: What if it's a really long task?
  89  - A: We can (and do) split the (pre-agreed) Milestones into sub-tasks
  90       in our bugtracker.  The same rules apply: 100% completion is required.
  91 * Q: What if i take a longer or shorter time?
  92    A: If it's shorter, great! you still get the same gift/donation (good for
  93       you!)  If it's longer, then, well, this is really no different from
  94       having given a "quote" for a job.  If that's really problematic
  95       we may be able to sort something out.
  96 * Q: So do I pay any tax on what I get paid?
  97  - A: This is a question that you will have to ask your *Accountant*.  In
  98      most jurisdictions, Charitable Gifts (which is what NLnet gives you)
  99      are entirely tax-free, however beyond a certain point some jurisdictions
 100      might start taxing it.  Bottom line: it is **your** responsibility to
 101      check with **your** Accountant.  Not ours, and not NLnet's.  We can
 102      help get you through the "Understanding Hoops" on that however it is
 103      definitely your responsibility and your responsibility alone.
 104 * Q: What was that about a Memorandum of Understanding?
 105  - A: Part of NLnet's funding remit (under the EU Horizon 2020
 106       Programme) and also part of the protection for yourself and for
 107       them, you will need to be listed as a Project Contributor on the
 108       associated Grant's MoU.  Note and reinforcement reminder: *this is
 109       not a contract*, it is simply for the NLnet Foundation's
 110       "Accountability and Audit trails" and is entirely private.
 111       Also note that the MoU specifically states (reinforcing the above)
 112       that you agree that it's your responsibility to contact an Accountant
 113       and to comply with local Tax Law regarding the donations that you
 114       receive.
 115 * Q: What about my privacy in that regard?
 116  - A: NLnet do not give out confidential names and addresses and we
 117       request that you communicate that information directly to them
 118       (not to us as Project Leaders or to other Project Members)
 119 * Q: What about Bank Account information for payments, I mean donations
 120  - A: Again: we request that you pass on the Bank Account information
 121       directly to NLnet.
 122 * Q: So... you - personally - the other LibreSOC developers - are not
 123      paying us or involved in payment in any way?
 124  - A: Correct.  We receive personal charitable donations (gifts) from NLnet,
 125       just like you would, having first also been added to the MoU.
 126 * Q: This all sounds very odd!  I want to consult my Lawyer!
 127  - A: Yeah please don't do that, unless they are an expert in International
 128       Finance, specialise in International Tax Agreements, and are
 129       also a Chartered Accountant, or they are prepared to work
 130       "Pro-bono".  NLnet is Charitably funding "Works for the Public
 131       Good".  If you pay your lawyer hundreds to thousands of dollars
 132       for "advice", that money needs to be replenished in your bank
 133       account. That means, ultimately, that NLnet is directly paying for it,
 134       and that is money needlessly and inappropriately wasted.
 135       Please instead have your **Accountant** review the International
 136       Tax Agreements that NLnet went to a lot of trouble to set up
 137       (<https://nlnet.nl/foundation/ANBI.html>) and if your **Accountant**
 138       does not understand them, have them contact Bob Goudriaan directly.
 139       Bob can explain it to your **Accountant**, your Accountant can explain
 140       it to you.
 141 * Q: I wanted to ask about "Works for the Public Good".  What does that mean,
 142      in practical terms?
 143  - A: It means that our (your) work - must be made available under Libre
 144       Licenses.  In this project's case we chose the LGPLv3+.
 145 * Q: Do I retain copyright?
 146  - A: Yes you do however we do ask that you make a "dual-assignment" so
 147       that we can enter into (non-exclusive, non-transferrable) re-licensing
 148       agreements to large Corporations that do not like the LGPLv3+.
 149       Given that you would receive a percentage of a substantial amount
 150       of money (which will be a donation by that Corporation) there is
 151       a financial incentive there (licensing deals for GPUs start around
 152       USD 250,000 for the low-end ones and go up from there).
 153 * Q: What's this about transparency?
 154  - A: We are funded under NLnet's Privacy and Enhanced Trust Programme
 155       <https://nlnet.nl/PET>.  The mandate is so that people to be able to
 156       trust what we are doing, and for independent audits to be able to
 157       take place.  Therefore, development discussion needs to be under
 158       resources within our control to record (i.e. not github).  Even the
 159       IRC channel is logged.
 160 * Q: So I have to record *everything*?
 161  - A: No, just make sure to use the bugtracker, mailing lists, IRC channel
 162       gitolite3 and FTP server for general day-to-day *development*.  Not
 163       your "personal conversations" or (if a Professor for example) your
 164       Lectures which happen to mention LibreSOC.
 165 * Q: That sounds nerve-wracking!
 166  - A: This is just how Libre software development is done: entirely publicly!
 167       There is nothing new here in 30+ years of Libre software development,
 168       it's just that it's a condition of involvement rather than optional.
 169       [sotto voice: and to be honest the traffic volume is so high and it's
 170       of such specialist interest that nobody's going to be looking who isn't
 171       genuinely interested :) ]