startups

Countries push digital taxes on tech giants


DOZENS of countries are stepping up efforts to levy new taxes on technology giants such as Alphabet Inc. GOOGL -1.80% and Facebook Inc., FB -3.70% hoping to capture revenue from digital services as economic activity increasingly shifts online.

Inspired by European Union proposals to impose a tax based on the revenue of tech companies rather than their profit, South Korea, India and at least seven other Asian-Pacific countries are exploring new taxes. Mexico, Chile and other Latin American countries too are contemplating new taxes aimed at boosting receipts from foreign tech firms.

Such taxes, which are separate from corporate income taxes many companies already pay, are broadly known as digital taxes and could add billions of dollars to companies’ tax bills. They seek to impose levies on digital services sold by global companies in a given country from units based outside that country. In some cases, the proposed taxes target services involving the collection of data about local residents, such as targeted online advertising.

“Countries across the planet now understand they must impose a digital tax,” said Bruno Le Maire, France’s finance minister, who is lobbying across Europe for the tax ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers in November. “It is a question of fairness.”





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.