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: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday March 23 2018, @02:22AM
This is fairly common from my observation of him: like me, he is a straight shooter in a world of crazy hairpin turns, loop-de-loops, and the kind of upside-down corkscrew tunnels that would make Sonic the Hedgehog lose his lunch. We both stick to our principles, come hell or high water. Unlike me, he seems not to do much research or have much basic human decency, but the underlying MO is still pretty much the same. That may be why we piss one another off so much.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...