EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business • Hacker News Board

Re: EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business

#51

Post by Jensson » Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 7:50 PM UTC

dahfizz wrote: post #19

oliv__ wrote: post #6

"The US has not taken steps to adopt the rules so far, despite Ms Yellen's championship of the plan." Lol, obviously. Cheering them on as they shoot themselves in the foot

Doesn't America already have a corporate tax rate well above 15%? What would we have to do to "adopt" these rules?

Tax companies that are currently hiding profits in tax havens. The idea is basically that companies headquartering in tax havens will get taxed anyway, until they pay 15% total global tax on those profits. No single country can do this, but when almost all countries agree to do it then companies can no longer hide.

Re: EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business

#52

Post by betaby » Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 7:51 PM UTC

colechristensen wrote: post #45

Nextgrid wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, how do you define where profits are made when it comes to selling digital services? There is no physical movement of goods. Do you determine it based on where the software was originally written?

Digital services are taxed where the services are rendered. In other words, the location of the user.

VAT taxed in this case, sure. Those are taxes on consumers. Article is bout corporate profit taxes.

Re: EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business

#53

Post by leereeves » Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 7:51 PM UTC

woodruffw wrote: post #37

bombcar wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they're referring to the one that was enabled by the amendment.

Okay. In that case the cutoff was around $80,000 in today's money, which is certainly not poor (but not rich either).

Top three percent is fairly rich.

> The Revenue Act of 1913 ... established a one percent tax on income above $3,000 per year; the tax affected approximately three percent of the population.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1913

Re: EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business

#54

Post by toast0 » Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 7:51 PM UTC

torben-friis wrote: post #43

Nextgrid wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, how do you define where profits are made when it comes to selling digital services? There is no physical movement of goods. Do you determine it based on where the software was originally written?

Surely if, say, netflix is offered to french costumers profit is made in france?

Why should the profit be made in france if the engineering that went into delivery was made in the US, the content was made in X, the deal for the content was negotiated in Y, network source is Z (probably france, but not necessarily)

VAT in France on the subscription makes sense, but figuring out where the profit lies, is more nebulous.

Re: EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business

#55

Post by jameshart » Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 7:52 PM UTC

poszlem wrote: post #39

woodruffw wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

The only difference is, I suppose, the fact that one comes from a people that got very close to experiencing the "social justice paradise" and the other is just a made up phrase by an internet troll. Otherwise, they are practically indistinguable.

Do you believe that when Paolo Gentiloni is using the words ‘social justice’, to describe a goal he is evidently in favor of accomplishing via the EU, he is saying he intends to adopt the economic and social policies of communist Poland?

Because I think that is a fairly uncharitable reading of what he likely intends.

Re: EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business

#56

Post by poszlem » Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 7:52 PM UTC

rsj_hn wrote: post #35

poszlem wrote: post #4

> "Today the European Union has taken a crucial step towards tax fairness and social justice," EU economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said. There is a saying in Poland: "The difference between > and > is the same as the difference between > and >. I wish we would actually listen to the those countries, when it comes to topics like socialism and communism. Though I suspect the Western European countries need to taste…

I wouldn't call a 15% tax on corporations "communism". The actual policy objective is reasonable even if many can argue both sides with rational debate. The main problem is this idea that a bunch of people on the liberal side of the Western world can create "global goals" and try to strong arm the rest of the world into following, which then leads to the inevitable outrage and disappointment when the rest of the worl…

It being a "global goal" is exactly what I don't like. I don't especially care if a country wants to tax their citizens whatever high. My problem is only when we reach a state of a "global government" deciding what's best for specific countries.

Re: EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business

#57

Post by dahfizz » Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 7:52 PM UTC

Jensson wrote: post #51

dahfizz wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't America already have a corporate tax rate well above 15%? What would we have to do to "adopt" these rules?

Tax companies that are currently hiding profits in tax havens. The idea is basically that companies headquartering in tax havens will get taxed anyway, until they pay 15% total global tax on those profits. No single country can do this, but when almost all countries agree to do it then companies can no longer hide.

> Tax companies that are currently hiding profits in tax havens.

> No single country can do this

I don't understand. If America already has a >15% tax rate, then it already abides by these rules. America is not a tax haven.

Re: EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business

#58

Post by colechristensen » Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 7:52 PM UTC

betaby wrote: post #52

colechristensen wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Digital services are taxed where the services are rendered. In other words, the location of the user.

VAT taxed in this case, sure. Those are taxes on consumers. Article is bout corporate profit taxes.

Likewise corporate tax should be in the jurisdiction where services are rendered. You sell something digitally in a market then you are locating yourself in that market and that’s where you should pay tax on profit for goods sold there.

Re: EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business

#59

Post by nonameiguess » Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 7:54 PM UTC

oliv__ wrote: post #6

"The US has not taken steps to adopt the rules so far, despite Ms Yellen's championship of the plan." Lol, obviously. Cheering them on as they shoot themselves in the foot

I wish the BBC would elaborate on what they mean by this. The US passed a 15% corporate minimum tax in August.

Re: EU adopts global minimum 15% tax on big business

#60

Post by Jensson » Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 7:55 PM UTC

dahfizz wrote: post #57

Jensson wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tax companies that are currently hiding profits in tax havens. The idea is basically that companies headquartering in tax havens will get taxed anyway, until they pay 15% total global tax on those profits. No single country can do this, but when almost all countries agree to do it then companies can no longer hide.

> Tax companies that are currently hiding profits in tax havens. > No single country can do this I don't understand. If America already has a >15% tax rate, then it already abides by these rules. America is not a tax haven.

USA needs to tax companies that are headquartered in tax havens, to ensure that those companies can't enjoy less than 15% global taxes. I don't think that USA is doing that right now.