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Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan

bloomberg.com

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Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan

#201

Post by _fizz_buzz_ »

adventured wrote: post #197
jfasi wrote: post #195

Personally, I like this proposal. I like that it's simple: any overly complex system will almost inevitably result in distortion and loopholes. A few points of my favorite points: * It's done on revenues and not profits. This avoids the impossible question of where profits are realized: if you make money in one country but displace that earning by costs somewhere else, it's practically impossible to determine where t…

> The best thing about this proposal is that it sets up a harmonious relationship It does the exact opposite. It spurs a further acrimonious relationship between the major economies of the EU and the US. Particularly France and Germany, which are a combined outsized share of the EU economy and represent ~80% of the trade deficit that the US has with the EU. This new tariff exists solely because the EU can't compete o…

It's not a tariff. EU companies are treated the same.

Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan

#202

Post by throwaway77384 »

adventured wrote: post #197
jfasi wrote: post #195

Personally, I like this proposal. I like that it's simple: any overly complex system will almost inevitably result in distortion and loopholes. A few points of my favorite points: * It's done on revenues and not profits. This avoids the impossible question of where profits are realized: if you make money in one country but displace that earning by costs somewhere else, it's practically impossible to determine where t…

> The best thing about this proposal is that it sets up a harmonious relationship It does the exact opposite. It spurs a further acrimonious relationship between the major economies of the EU and the US. Particularly France and Germany, which are a combined outsized share of the EU economy and represent ~80% of the trade deficit that the US has with the EU. This new tariff exists solely because the EU can't compete o…

What you are describing are Trump's steel tariffs, which indeed make no sense and do exactly what you say.

I believe what the EU has realised, is, that trying to tax the profits of corporations that will simply move them around and declare them wherever they don't have to pay taxes on them, is a game of cat and mouse the EU can't win. So, they decided to go a different route.

When Google decided they could negotiate the tax they had to pay in the UK with George Osborne, the public outcry was massive (think: "Why can't I get an appointment with HMRC to negotiate what I owe in taxes?").

The EU needs to show that the social contract is non-negotiable, lest it face further disenfranchisement of the populace.

This is a good first step in the right direction, in my opinion. Whether it's tech companies, or any other big industrial conglomerate, tax avoidance is not acceptable.

Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan

#203

Post by Jdam »

_fizz_buzz_ wrote: post #201
adventured wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The best thing about this proposal is that it sets up a harmonious relationship It does the exact opposite. It spurs a further acrimonious relationship between the major economies of the EU and the US. Particularly France and Germany, which are a combined outsized share of the EU economy and represent ~80% of the trade deficit that the US has with the EU. This new tariff exists solely because the EU can't compete o…

It's not a tariff. EU companies are treated the same.

Do EU companies exist that do fall under this law? Can’t think of one right now.

Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan

#204

Post by jfasi »

adventured wrote: post #197
jfasi wrote: post #195

Personally, I like this proposal. I like that it's simple: any overly complex system will almost inevitably result in distortion and loopholes. A few points of my favorite points: * It's done on revenues and not profits. This avoids the impossible question of where profits are realized: if you make money in one country but displace that earning by costs somewhere else, it's practically impossible to determine where t…

> The best thing about this proposal is that it sets up a harmonious relationship It does the exact opposite. It spurs a further acrimonious relationship between the major economies of the EU and the US. Particularly France and Germany, which are a combined outsized share of the EU economy and represent ~80% of the trade deficit that the US has with the EU. This new tariff exists solely because the EU can't compete o…

You comment doesn't make sense to me.

Face it: some form of taxation was going to appear no matter what. It's inevitable. You don't just roll into a country, make billions of dollars, and expect to pay no tax in perpetuity. As tax proposals go, this one is pretty reasonable.

This isn't a punitive measure because it sets no one apart for any past behavior. It also isn't a "shield from competition" because all companies have to adhere to it, not just American ones.

Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan

#206

Post by barry-cotter »

danbruc wrote: post #196
barry-cotter wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re not able to compete with a price that’s the market saying you’d be better off doing something else with those resources. If you suspect that the price is due to subsidy, great, free money. If you want to maintain domestic production capacity subsidise it. If you want to reduce startup costs pay to mothball a plant. If you want to maintain expertise subsidise the salaries of citizens who go abroad to learn a…

Well, it is not free money if I have to spend money to protect me against potential future negative outcomes of that free money. And where would the money come from to mothball a plant? Naturally that would be from anti-dumping taxes on the subsidized goods causing the issue, wouldn't it? And I would almost never suggest to tell any other country what to do - even though I would consider that legitimate within the ri…

The free money is the subsidy that is the reason usually avowed for anti-dumping tariffs. Choosing to mothball a plant is a choice, not something that automatically happens if some other country chooses to subsidise one of their industries.

Revenues and expenditures are both fungible. In the end one goes into the state’s coffers and the other goes out. In no sense worth mentioning would taxes from anti-dumping tariffs fund subsidising domestic production or mothballing a plant. The costs, benefits and consequences of tariffs, subsidies on domestic production and mothballing should be considered not as a unit but as three separate policies with no necessary relations. If one, two or three of them make sense by all means do them but the idea that one can fund the others is just a desire for retribution looking for a justification.

Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan

#207

Post by humanrebar »

jfasi wrote: post #204
adventured wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The best thing about this proposal is that it sets up a harmonious relationship It does the exact opposite. It spurs a further acrimonious relationship between the major economies of the EU and the US. Particularly France and Germany, which are a combined outsized share of the EU economy and represent ~80% of the trade deficit that the US has with the EU. This new tariff exists solely because the EU can't compete o…

You comment doesn't make sense to me. Face it: some form of taxation was going to appear no matter what. It's inevitable. You don't just roll into a country, make billions of dollars, and expect to pay no tax in perpetuity. As tax proposals go, this one is pretty reasonable. This isn't a punitive measure because it sets no one apart for any past behavior. It also isn't a "shield from competition" because all companie…

The companies and their employees pay taxes, though. On electricity, on data, on personal income, on gasoline, on property, etc. Whether an entity is paying its fair share is a legitimate question, but it's strange to me to blame companies for following the law as written.

Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan

#208

Post by zerostar07 »

jfasi wrote: post #195

Personally, I like this proposal. I like that it's simple: any overly complex system will almost inevitably result in distortion and loopholes. A few points of my favorite points: * It's done on revenues and not profits. This avoids the impossible question of where profits are realized: if you make money in one country but displace that earning by costs somewhere else, it's practically impossible to determine where t…

> Personally, I like this proposal

It is meant to be a popular proposal that will win lots of likes for the EU, but it's stupid on the face of it and it will end up comically abused. E.g. companies could create 2 resellers across europe, split the revenue and avoid the tax. It's not less brazen than their current dodging schemes and it just shows the impossibility of taxation under global free trade. It's also very passive aggressive, if they wanted a tariff they should impose a tarriff.

Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan

#209

Post by zdkl »

adventured wrote: post #197
jfasi wrote: post #195

Personally, I like this proposal. I like that it's simple: any overly complex system will almost inevitably result in distortion and loopholes. A few points of my favorite points: * It's done on revenues and not profits. This avoids the impossible question of where profits are realized: if you make money in one country but displace that earning by costs somewhere else, it's practically impossible to determine where t…

> The best thing about this proposal is that it sets up a harmonious relationship It does the exact opposite. It spurs a further acrimonious relationship between the major economies of the EU and the US. Particularly France and Germany, which are a combined outsized share of the EU economy and represent ~80% of the trade deficit that the US has with the EU. This new tariff exists solely because the EU can't compete o…

>This new tariff exists solely because the EU can't compete on technology and needs to raise barriers.

I'd argue it's a shield against unfair competition. US tech companies have a huge first mover advantage. They use that advantage to attract foreign talent and employ that talent to extract value globally. It seems reasonable to expect a financial contribution for access to foreign markets given the quasi monopolistic quality of US tech firms.

Re: Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan

#210

Post by wtfstatists »

throwaway77384 wrote: post #202
adventured wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The best thing about this proposal is that it sets up a harmonious relationship It does the exact opposite. It spurs a further acrimonious relationship between the major economies of the EU and the US. Particularly France and Germany, which are a combined outsized share of the EU economy and represent ~80% of the trade deficit that the US has with the EU. This new tariff exists solely because the EU can't compete o…

What you are describing are Trump's steel tariffs, which indeed make no sense and do exactly what you say. I believe what the EU has realised, is, that trying to tax the profits of corporations that will simply move them around and declare them wherever they don't have to pay taxes on them, is a game of cat and mouse the EU can't win. So, they decided to go a different route. When Google decided they could negotiate…

> The EU needs to show that the social contract is non-negotiable,

By raising new consumption tax ? Its not going to work. Thats not how you fund socialism lol.

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