Hi all.

I am inquiring regarding possible turning my hobby into a small business. I have been informed it is better for taxation in my local country. As I am full time employed, I make my Visual Novel games in my spare time and have made them available on various online web-stores such as itch, subscribestar , patreon and even on Steam. 

My question is simple. Should I if/when i have registered as a small business in my local country, then upload a new W-BEN8 form to each online web-store site that I am now a small business even if it's just registered in my local country? 
What are the ramifications should I do this? Any new forms i have to file each year or taxes I have to pay to the online web-stores?
Lastly do i have to do this on Payoneer side also? Inform them I have a small business now or can I keep everything overseas related still as an individual and just in my local country as a small business?

I know it's not an easy question.

It depends on the legal structure of your small business.

If you're forming a company or some type of official corporation, the company will pay and file its own taxes. In that case you'd have to change the legal entity to the small business everywhere that you do business. It will need its own bank account and tax number, and Payoneer and all the stores would pay the money into the company's bank account. The company would need to draw up financial statements and submit a tax return once a year or so (depending on your country's laws). 

You might pay less tax if the companies' tax rate in your country is less than your personal tax rate. But you'd also have to factor in the cost of forming and maintaining a legal company. For example, you may need to pay accountants to draw up your financial statements and submit your tax returns. Some countries have additional fees that you must pay for the company's registration and business license which can be once-off, annually or both.

However, if you're trading as a sole proprietor for tax purposes, nothing changes internationally. It's only your own internal tax processes that change.

Thank you so much for your information. Helps a lot.