Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
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Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
#2[deleted]
Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
#3We are all in this world together. It is insane that corporations have been able to reap untold profits while hardly being taxed at all. These companies could not exist without the societies of the people who buy their products. They should pay taxes wherever they do business, even if fiat currency isn't changing hands (i.e., Facebook and Twitter free users) as specified here.
Good move EU. Higher taxes on megacorps will improve quality of life globally and will ensure stronger societies that are more resilient to disaster (like the 2008 crash, or even a natural disaster). Higher taxes on megacorps will increase the probabilities of stable societies with healthy middle classes. Higher taxes on megacorps will enable more people to be entrepreneurs themselves, as more people will grow up with the resources and skills to start something of their own. It's win-win-win all around.
If the megacorps want to earn more money, they should pay more tax. They'll earn more money in the long run that way.
Edit: I'd love to reply to the comments below, but all you downvoters made that impossible. I'm now banned from commenting and replying on HN presumably from some automatic downvote ban switch. Thanks for silencing the debate downvoters and HN filters. Goodbye.
Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
#4What right does the EU have to tax revenue (not even earnings) from money made on non-EU citizens? I could understand an argument that they have a right to levy a tax on money created by selling services to EU citizens, but global revenues?
They mention Twitter as an example in the article, but Twitter's revenues for 2017 was $3.83 billion, and their net-earnings is mostly negative, or barely positive. So they'd be asking Twitter for money they don't even have.
This seems too crazy to pass, like the Trump tariffs, it just seems to be a footgun.
Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
#5We are all in this world together. It is insane that corporations have been able to reap untold profits while hardly being taxed at all. These companies could not exist without the societies of the people who buy their products. They should pay taxes wherever they do business, even if fiat currency isn't changing hands (i.e., Facebook and Twitter free users) as specified here. Good move EU. Higher taxes on megacorps…
Well, tax them on the money they make from EU sales then. I hardly see why the EU has a claim on revenues made by overseas companies on non-EU citizens. How about the US levy a tax on global BMW and Benz revenues?
Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
#6We are all in this world together. It is insane that corporations have been able to reap untold profits while hardly being taxed at all. These companies could not exist without the societies of the people who buy their products. They should pay taxes wherever they do business, even if fiat currency isn't changing hands (i.e., Facebook and Twitter free users) as specified here. Good move EU. Higher taxes on megacorps…
Well, tax them on the money they make from EU sales then. I hardly see why the EU has a claim on revenues made by overseas companies on non-EU citizens. How about the US levy a tax on global BMW and Benz revenues?
> I hardly see why the EU has a claim on revenues made by overseas companies on non-EU citizens.
For the same reason the US government has claim on all global income of both its citizens and corporations. [1] [2]
Corporations brought this on themselves by using accounting cleverness to "hide" billions in profits [3]. This is simply a regulatory response. Tech companies can choose not to operate in the EU as well. This gets to the crux of the problem: taxing where the use takes place, not where the corporation is located.
[1] https://www.irs.gov/businesses/income-from-abroad-is-taxable
[2] https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/people-with-foreign-income-or-f...
Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
#7What right does the EU have to tax revenue (not even earnings) from money made on non-EU citizens? I could understand an argument that they have a right to levy a tax on money created by selling services to EU citizens, but global revenues? They mention Twitter as an example in the article, but Twitter's revenues for 2017 was $3.83 billion, and their net-earnings is mostly negative, or barely positive. So they'd be a…
> What right does the EU have to tax revenue (not even earnings) from money made on non-EU citizens?
Every right. Their government, their citizens, their laws.
> but global revenues?
These companies exist globally. They would be vastly smaller and have far less impact if they did not have EU citizens. Network effects matter and ignoring them is choosing to not understand the big picture.
> So they'd be asking Twitter for money they don't even have.
It doesn't strike me they would try to collect this retroactively!
Also, I would argue that clearly Twitter should not exist at all if it cannot pay a reasonable tax in the areas where it operates.
Edit: What right does Twitter have coming into the EU, collecting data on its citizens, earning revenues from that, and not paying tax? Seems insane to me.
Edit 2: I guess all the downvotes trigger a switch, I'm not allowed to post any more on HN I guess. Bye all.
Edit 3: To the replies below, I'm not "boxed in" by some silly argument. I'm just banned from replying.
Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
#8We are all in this world together. It is insane that corporations have been able to reap untold profits while hardly being taxed at all. These companies could not exist without the societies of the people who buy their products. They should pay taxes wherever they do business, even if fiat currency isn't changing hands (i.e., Facebook and Twitter free users) as specified here. Good move EU. Higher taxes on megacorps…
Well, tax them on the money they make from EU sales then. I hardly see why the EU has a claim on revenues made by overseas companies on non-EU citizens. How about the US levy a tax on global BMW and Benz revenues?
> How about the US levy a tax on global BMW and Benz revenues?
As long as those companies are pumping out gasoline cars that pollute the air and the environment around the US, that sounds like a great idea! Those companies are unfairly creating pollutants and encouraging their customers to raise the global temperature, dirty American's air, and everyone else's, etc.
I would be pleased to see the US pose taxes on businesses that are actively harming Americans.
Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
#9As an answer big techs will likely break these companies into 100 smaller ones to avoid the thresholds?
"The levy would cover companies that have annual worldwide total revenue exceeding 750 million euros ($920 million) and total taxable annual revenue from offering digital services in the EU above 50 million euros."
Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
#10What right does the EU have to tax revenue (not even earnings) from money made on non-EU citizens? I could understand an argument that they have a right to levy a tax on money created by selling services to EU citizens, but global revenues? They mention Twitter as an example in the article, but Twitter's revenues for 2017 was $3.83 billion, and their net-earnings is mostly negative, or barely positive. So they'd be a…
> What right does the EU have to tax revenue (not even earnings) from money made on non-EU citizens? Every right. Their government, their citizens, their laws. > but global revenues? These companies exist globally. They would be vastly smaller and have far less impact if they did not have EU citizens. Network effects matter and ignoring them is choosing to not understand the big picture. > So they'd be asking Twitter…
> Every right. Their government, their citizens, their laws.
If a company doesn't have offices in your country, it's not yours.
>These companies exist globally
Well, maybe the net result is to get out of the EU then, if the costs of 3% of global revenues exceed profits.
If you don't think a company that is mostly non-profit (Twitter) shouldn't exist, I feel that's a pretty pathetic position. So you're either a very greedy, high margin profit company,or the EU says you shouldn't exist?