Firstly thank you all for your replies - they've been very interesting and have continued to address - and echo, many of the concerns and sentiments I've seen.

My point of contention is not with the fact that Nokia is asking for a Tax ID, it is that in many other countries, having a Tax ID is not a mandatory component for doing business.

Apple has been able to offer this service to all developers, corporation or not, without requiring them to be a corporation. Even the comparatively small company I work for pays out thousands of dollars to individuals around the world every month without this requirement. Why this is a problem for a company as large as Nokia I do not understand.

The vast majority of developers aren't going to have a clue about how to register a business. Similarly, most developers aren't going to take on the annual risks and responsibilities of managing a small company unless they're damn sure that they'll be making enough to be worthwhile. Getting your foot in the door is a minimum $200 (Ovi registration + business incorporation).

I'm fortunate enough to have had many years of business in my background of development. Today I started the arduous process of registering a corporation. Once my business name request gets approved (time), I can then prepare my articles of corporation and shareholder assignments, etc, etc, ad nauseam. The vast majority of developers looking to get paid for their work are going to say '**** that' and that will be the extent of their Maemo Development.

Since Quim has made it clear that this policy is here to say, all I can stay is that I'm deeply saddened by Nokia's inability to keep up with it's competitors.

Evidently it's time to call it a day.