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France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek to base taxes on digital giants' revenues

reuters.com

151–160 of 195 posts

Re: France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek to base taxes on digital giants' revenues

#151
post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taxes may be inherent to society, but so is crime. I believe we have a moral obligation to minimize both.

I kinda like the idea of a well-funded government. Maybe it's just me? Note: This doesn't mean I agree with how they spend it.

I agree with a well funded government. I don't always agree with how government spends the money, but that is kind of the point. Governments should guarantee a minimum standard and equal starting conditions for everyone, capitalism raise the roof. Both are vital.

Re: France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek to base taxes on digital giants' revenues

#153
post #104
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of the main criticism about how the EU was made: freedom for funds goods and (mostly) workers to move around in the EU zone, without tariffs or constraints but no fiscal harmonization has been done. Therefore countries with low taxes (Ireland but also Luxembourg) attract a disproportionate amount of big companies HQ. Ikea, for instance, is officially declared in Luxembourg. Why so many people in EU rejoic…

I don't know where you got that so many people in the EU rejoice at the defection of the UK. It is a sad state of affair that gets the rest if the EU sad and angry. I don't see what there is to rejoice about, although I'm sure that some will see it as a benefit in some narrow way.

[deleted]

Re: France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek to base taxes on digital giants' revenues

#154
post #147
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At least 90% of the value created by Google, Facebook and Apple was created in California. I'm trying not to be snarky but I need to say wtf. FB & google don't make money from IP, they make money as service providers, connecting merchants on the advertisement hype train to our eyeballs. They take money from local and transnational businesses, and present ads, aggregation and search services to individual, local, us…

Seems like you are thinking the value is created by customers, while the GP thinks it is created by employees.

Was it the farmer or the field? The fella that used to farm here wasn't so efficient or modern, but he paid the lord of the manors tithe, the new person is growing lots of new things, she's selling them cheap in the market.

Her toys are nicer than the family who live at the manor have ever seen, let alone owned.

She's kind of a loud mouth, keeps telling the peasants and the Baronial family that they need to change, that their ideas about life, culture and fairness are all wrong.

How does this story end.?We note that the Barons have swords, pikes, bows and arrows, a long track record of setting fire to houses and decorating them by hanging up the occupants. Perhaps though, this time, they'll simply chillax and go to the seminars that the new woman is running.

If they use option a. I expect that the next peasant in charge of the farm will be much less ostentatious, opinionated and will adopt all of the shiny new practices introduced by the last farmer. They probably won't invent many new ones... but then again are there lots of new ones to be invented now?

Re: France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek to base taxes on digital giants' revenues

#155
post #39

> A French court ruled in July French court ruled that Google, now part of Alphabet Inc, was not liable to pay 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in back taxes because it had no “permanent establishment” in France and ran its operations there from Ireland. How strange. I didn't know Google were an Irish company. I see them when I connect to the internet from all over the world. It looks like Airbnb also have their EMEA…

That's illegal for a person to do, but legal for these big companies. Don't blame the companies for exploiting loopholes. Blame the law. Fix the law.

Yes - it must be this way round. If there is a clear level playing field then things will sort themselves out in the medium term. While there's a lot of nonsense and confusion bad outcomes will arise.

Re: France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek to base taxes on digital giants' revenues

#156
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know where you got that so many people in the EU rejoice at the defection of the UK. It is a sad state of affair that gets the rest if the EU sad and angry. I don't see what there is to rejoice about, although I'm sure that some will see it as a benefit in some narrow way.

Actually, UK was never part of the EU ( fully). I'm glad that's over now, i don't think UK will benefit on the long term and I hope the responsable politicians will be punished. But at least the will be no more exceptions for participating members of the EU. The EU was a good concept, but exceptions to members states ( not only UK, but also for Belgium eg. To much debt), made it a lot less usefull Damned politicians.…

People in the UK voted to join the EC, not the EU. British leadership (Margaret Tatcher) was very straightforward from the begining about not joining the EMU/Eurozone.

Re: France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek to base taxes on digital giants' revenues

#157
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No countries tax foreign income but the USA and Eritrea.

Not true at all. Canada, for example, taxes your worldwide income. USA and Eritrea are unique in that they will tax your worldwide income even if you no longer live in those countries (are non-resident.) No other countries in the world have the brass balls to do that.

From what I understand they will rebate your tax based on the local taxation you have paid, provided you can prove that.

Alternatively you can give up your citizenship... I think very few people with US citizenship ever do that.

Re: France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek to base taxes on digital giants' revenues

#158
post #137
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep in mind we're the last effectively communist country in the world, I'm not surprised in the least to see corporate taxes up there with the "banana republics" gp was talking about. "Social" money has to come from somewhere!

I don't believe I've ever heard France described as a communist country before

We have extremely influential labor unions, the public sector is a leading job provider (even a majority employer in some areas), healthcare and a lot of infrastructure is nationalised, huge welfare programs, free public education for all...

But most importantly to the (joke) argument that we're the last communist country there's a massive popular adhesion to the points listed above and for some reason a deep seated mistrust of the wealthy.

Re: France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek to base taxes on digital giants' revenues

#159
post #157
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not true at all. Canada, for example, taxes your worldwide income. USA and Eritrea are unique in that they will tax your worldwide income even if you no longer live in those countries (are non-resident.) No other countries in the world have the brass balls to do that.

From what I understand they will rebate your tax based on the local taxation you have paid, provided you can prove that. Alternatively you can give up your citizenship... I think very few people with US citizenship ever do that.

That is because there is a cost associated with renouncing US citizenship. You'll get hit with an exit tax on all your assets, making it extremely painful. The US really does not want you to renounce, because then they can no longer tax your global income.

They essentially punish wealthy people (financially) for renouncing.

Re: France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek to base taxes on digital giants' revenues

#160
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No countries tax foreign income but the USA and Eritrea.

Not true at all. Canada, for example, taxes your worldwide income. USA and Eritrea are unique in that they will tax your worldwide income even if you no longer live in those countries (are non-resident.) No other countries in the world have the brass balls to do that.

The US is probably also realistically the only country in the world that would be able to do this and get away with it.

(Pretty sure Eritrea isn't collecting much from abroad..)

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