documented at the [[nlnet_proposals]] page.
NLNet is a Foundation and so does not have employees or enter into "work
-for hire" agreements. It also will not give money to Corporations:
-only to Universities, individuals, and other Foundations.
+for hire" agreements. It also will not give money to Corporations
+(or, it will, but at a rate which does not include payment of Corporation
+insurance, tax etc.): only to Universities, individuals, and other
+Foundations.
They have an extremely knowledgeable International Tax Law specialist
who has negotiated tax agreements with most countries in the world and
* 2019-10-032 Proofs <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=158>
* 2019-10-046 Standards <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=174>
-# NLNet new members onboarding FAQ
+# NLNet new members onboarding FAQ <a id="faq">
This FAQ is written to assist people in understanding the key difference
between being "financially rewarded with charitable donations" and
* Q: So I start work on a bug: do I get paid "per hour"?
- A: No. NLnet's donations are for "results" (Milestones) not time.
This avoids NLnet being, for example, qualified under local law
- (e.g. UK IR35) as an "employer"
+ (e.g. UK IR35) as an "employer" (which would interfere with their
+ status and responsibilities as a Charitable Foundation).
* Q: What if I don't complete the work?
- - A: then you don't get paid.
+ - A: then you can't submit a Request for Payment.
* Q: Are there any penalties or consequences for me if I don't?
- A: No. there's no contract (it's a Memorandum of Understanding), so
no penalties. You just don't get the associated "gift / donation".
+* Q: What if it's a really long task?
+ - A: We can (and do) split the (pre-agreed) Milestones into sub-tasks
+ in our bugtracker. The same rules apply: 100% completion is required.
* Q: What if i take a longer or shorter time?
A: If it's shorter, great! you still get the same gift/donation (good for
you!) If it's longer, then, well, this is really no different from
having given a "quote" for a job. If that's really problematic
we may be able to sort something out.
+* Q: So do I pay any tax on what I get paid?
+ - A: This is a question that you will have to ask your *Accountant*. In
+ most jurisdictions, Charitable Gifts (which is what NLnet gives you)
+ are entirely tax-free, however beyond a certain point some jurisdictions
+ might start taxing it. Bottom line: it is **your** responsibility to
+ check with **your** Accountant. Not ours, and not NLnet's. We can
+ help get you through the "Understanding Hoops" on that however it is
+ definitely your responsibility and your responsibility alone.
* Q: What was that about a Memorandum of Understanding?
- A: Part of NLnet's funding remit (under the EU Horizon 2020
Programme) and also part of the protection for yourself and for
associated Grant's MoU. Note and reinforcement reminder: *this is
not a contract*, it is simply for the NLnet Foundation's
"Accountability and Audit trails" and is entirely private.
+ Also note that the MoU specifically states (reinforcing the above)
+ that you agree that it's your responsibility to contact an Accountant
+ and to comply with local Tax Law regarding the donations that you
+ receive.
* Q: What about my privacy in that regard?
- A: NLnet do not give out confidential names and addresses and we
request that you communicate that information directly to them
"Pro-bono". NLnet is Charitably funding "Works for the Public
Good". If you pay your lawyer hundreds to thousands of dollars
for "advice", that money needs to be replenished in your bank
- account, which means, ultimately, that NLnet is directly paying for it.
+ account. That means, ultimately, that NLnet is directly paying for it,
+ and that is money needlessly and inappropriately wasted.
Please instead have your **Accountant** review the International
Tax Agreements that NLnet went to a lot of trouble to set up
(<https://nlnet.nl/foundation/ANBI.html>) and if your **Accountant**
does not understand them, have them contact Bob Goudriaan directly.
-
+ Bob can explain it to your **Accountant**, your Accountant can explain
+ it to you.
+* Q: I wanted to ask about "Works for the Public Good". What does that mean,
+ in practical terms?
+ - A: It means that our (your) work - must be made available under Libre
+ Licenses. In this project's case we chose the LGPLv3+.
+* Q: Do I retain copyright?
+ - A: Yes you do however we do ask that you make a "dual-assignment" so
+ that we can enter into (non-exclusive, non-transferrable) re-licensing
+ agreements to large Corporations that do not like the LGPLv3+.
+ Given that you would receive a percentage of a substantial amount
+ of money (which will be a donation by that Corporation) there is
+ a financial incentive there (licensing deals for GPUs start around
+ USD 250,000 for the low-end ones and go up from there).
+* Q: What's this about transparency?
+ - A: We are funded under NLnet's Privacy and Enhanced Trust Programme
+ <https://nlnet.nl/PET>. The mandate is so that people to be able to
+ trust what we are doing, and for independent audits to be able to
+ take place. Therefore, development discussion needs to be under
+ resources within our control to record (i.e. not github). Even the
+ IRC channel is logged.
+* Q: So I have to record *everything*?
+ - A: No, just make sure to use the bugtracker, mailing lists, IRC channel
+ gitolite3 and FTP server for general day-to-day *development*. Not
+ your "personal conversations" or (if a Professor for example) your
+ Lectures which happen to mention LibreSOC.
+* Q: That sounds nerve-wracking!
+ - A: This is just how Libre software development is done: entirely publicly!
+ There is nothing new here in 30+ years of Libre software development,
+ it's just that it's a condition of involvement rather than optional.
+ [sotto voice: and to be honest the traffic volume is so high and it's
+ of such specialist interest that nobody's going to be looking who isn't
+ genuinely interested :) ]
projects / libreriscv.git / blobdiff