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Technology giants face European 'digital tax' blow
Big technology firms face paying more tax under plans announced by the European Commission. It said companies with significant online revenues should pay a 3% tax on turnover for various online services, bringing in an estimated €5bn (£4.4bn). The proposal would affect firms such as Facebook and Google with global annual revenues above €750m and taxable EU revenue above €50m.
The move follows criticism that tech giants pay too little tax in Europe. EU economics affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici said the "current legal vacuum is creating a serious shortfall in the public revenue of our member states". He stressed it was not a move against the US or "GAFA" - the acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. According to the Commission, top digital firms pay an average tax rate of just 9.5% in the EU - far less than the 23.3% paid by traditional companies.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday March 22 2018, @06:18PM (10 children)
Apple doesn't benefit from healthcare? They don't care if their employees are too sick to work? They don't care if their customers are too poor to buy fruitbadged-blinkenbobs because they've been bankrupted by illness?
How much extra would they have to pay their staff for private pensions if the state wasn't providing a state pension?
(Score: 1, Disagree) by khallow on Thursday March 22 2018, @06:27PM (9 children)
Yes. Not much point to the rest of your post.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 22 2018, @08:46PM (8 children)
And your posts almost never have a point, just screeching about taxes == theft and other capitalist apologia.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday March 22 2018, @08:48PM (7 children)
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 22 2018, @09:22PM
Nope, all the facts show that socialized healthcare is superior in every way. Only if private doctors are outlawed would be there be a downside: the rich couldn't pay for higher priority, a situation that has me crying big old salty tears.
You sir are a disingenuous hack with nothing better to do than spew your terrible ideology. The few valid complaints you have are lost in the ocean of stupid you would foist upon humanity.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 22 2018, @10:38PM (5 children)
Yes, as it is frequently pointed out, US has much cheaper healthcare than the EU, with better overall outcome. /s
You, sir, are a fucking moron.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday March 22 2018, @10:55PM (4 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 23 2018, @02:36AM (3 children)
Oh, you were worried about the US paying for healthcare in Ireland? You sir are STILL a fucking moron.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday March 23 2018, @03:45AM (2 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 23 2018, @04:40AM (1 child)
The topic was apple workers in Ireland, you said "the EU or worse, the us pay for it" so what do you expect me to think? What magic phrase didni miss here?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday March 23 2018, @05:58AM
Um, that was never true. The story itself is about generic online companies paying a "turnover" tax in the EU. Nothing about Apple workers in Ireland though presumably they'd be affected one way or another. In the entire discussion prior to my post, 96 comments at the time, Ireland has only been mentioned three times, including your post above. That indicates Irish Apple workers were never the topic.
My post which you quoted about was in response to the alleged advantages of public spending in health care to Apple. I pointed out that any such benefit, should it actually exist, could be better paid for by Apple than through the government channels of the EU or even worse the US (which you agreed was indeed worse). That's it. I'm not making some sophisticated tie-in to the turnover tax of the story or to Irish workers.