I wonder how much tax revenue the EU would have lost if Google and Facebook didn't exist.
I wonder how much revenue and profit would have lost Google and Facebook if they didn't exist in the EU
EU lost up to €5.4B in tax revenues from Google, Facebook: report
11–20 of 224 posts
Re: EU lost up to €5.4B in tax revenues from Google, Facebook: report
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is a very good point. They should be grateful for these multi-nationalistic monopolies. /s
Just stating how much taxes are being "avoided" is an imperfect perspective. If, say, it turned out they contributed $100B to the economy, then that $5B wouldn't look that big in that context.
I always struggle with this logic. Is your argument that if 100B EUR in Facebook ads were sold (presumably the way in which Facebook 'contribute'), then this 100B was 'created' by Facebook? I imagine other measures would be proxies for Facebook's profits too (e.g. some portion of engineers' salaries to go private landlords).
Isn't this reverse-progressive taxation? If Facebook were outraged at paying taxes enough to shut up shop in Europe, wouldn't that 100B (or something like it) still be kicking around, just in different hands?
Re: EU lost up to €5.4B in tax revenues from Google, Facebook: report
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is a very good point. They should be grateful for these multi-nationalistic monopolies. /s
Just stating how much taxes are being "avoided" is an imperfect perspective. If, say, it turned out they contributed $100B to the economy, then that $5B wouldn't look that big in that context.
I get what you're saying, but I think it's fundamentally wrong for two reasons.
First, it is "big" when you consider how that money could be used. Cynicism aside about funding wars and filling walls with cash, it could be used for substantive (read: big) social good
Secondly, this is an important market. If they don't want to pay taxes, they have the legal option to not do business in Europe. So while you say "5B is small compared to 100B", I say "5B is a small price to pay for the billions they made."
Re: EU lost up to €5.4B in tax revenues from Google, Facebook: report
#14Strategically, I wonder Google/FB/etc. would do better to pay more taxes. The recent GDPR is a total disaster for them. Maybe it could have been avoided if they paid more taxes, and were on friendlier terms with the EU.
Re: EU lost up to €5.4B in tax revenues from Google, Facebook: report
#15[deleted]
Re: EU lost up to €5.4B in tax revenues from Google, Facebook: report
#16Is the EU tax based on revenue instead of profit? Or is basing it on revenue in this instance just supposed to make the "percentage paid" smaller to make FB and Google look worse?
[deleted]
Re: EU lost up to €5.4B in tax revenues from Google, Facebook: report
#17Is the EU tax based on revenue instead of profit? Or is basing it on revenue in this instance just supposed to make the "percentage paid" smaller to make FB and Google look worse?
I believe the article is just poorly worded in that regard.
> "It says that Google pays taxes worth up to 9 percent of its revenues outside the EU"
They're simply asserting that Google currently pays 9% of its revenue in taxes outside of the EU. I don't believe they are calculating their lost tax revenue that way.
To answer your question in the EU corporate tax is yes based on profit. Your revenue minus your expenses.
Re: EU lost up to €5.4B in tax revenues from Google, Facebook: report
#18[deleted]
Re: EU lost up to €5.4B in tax revenues from Google, Facebook: report
#19Strategically, I wonder Google/FB/etc. would do better to pay more taxes. The recent GDPR is a total disaster for them. Maybe it could have been avoided if they paid more taxes, and were on friendlier terms with the EU.
It's the same problem with any industry where the laws haven't caught up yet: acting in good faith helps when the laws start to catch up, and being too aggressive/exploitative only ensures the new laws will close the existing loopholes and yet-to-be-envisioned ones
Re: EU lost up to €5.4B in tax revenues from Google, Facebook: report
#20I wonder how much tax revenue the EU would have lost if Google and Facebook didn't exist.
I wonder how much revenue and profit would have lost Google and Facebook if they didn't exist in the EU
How do they "exist" in the EU? One way to see it is that people from the EU are simply buying services from a US company. It's as if they caught a plane, and paid at a cash register in California. But instead of making the trip, they just sent a check.