Selling Digital Art in UK/Europe? A Warning

A new EU law is coming into place on January 1st, which will affect anyone selling digital art and/or commissions in the UK and maybe Europe. I just came across this article that talks about the new law in an indie-developer context, but if I'm understanding it right, it also affects anyone selling digital services (ie. paypal art commissions and the like):

www.kotaku.co.uk/2014/12/17/ne…

To quote their tl;dr-
"To summarise: before, small developers selling their own games online in the UK had to pay no sales tax and did not have to VAT-register with HMRC, the UK’s tax authority. After January 1st, not only will they have to pay VAT on sales made in Europe, they will also have to VAT-register, file quarterly reports and keep detailed records on all their sales for a period of 10 years. For someone making a little money on the side from selling games (or digital comics, or e-books), it’s just not worth the cost and hassle. Many independent creators have already said they are being forced to choose between breaking the law and stopping selling digital things on the Internet in the New Year. It’s not worth the cost of compliance."

Now, it might not be as bad as it sounds, there's a potential for some misinterpreted sensationalism. But I wouldn't put it passed the EU to do something completely counter-productive like this. Maybe if anyone's a bit more versed in law that they can chime in and clarify a few things?

If it does sound like it is, then it looks like I won't be doing commissions in the near future. If I do, it's gonna have to be to Americans and non-Europeans only. And it'll suck having to leave half you guys out.