 |
| How it would feel paying a tax on the internet! |
The idea surfaced Friday in a report commissioned by President François
Hollande, which described various measures his government was taking to
address what the French see as tax avoidance by Internet companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook.
These companies gather vast reams of information about their users,
harnessing it to tailor their services to individuals’ interests or to
direct customized advertising to them. So extensive is the collection of
personal details, and so promising the business opportunities linked to
it, that the report described data as the “raw material” of the digital
economy.
“They have a distinct value, poorly reflected in economic science or official statistics,” the report said.
Google generates more than $30 billion a year in advertising revenue,
including an estimated €1.5 billion, or $2 billion, in France. Yet, like
other American Internet companies, it pays almost no taxes in France.
That state of affairs upsets France’s policy makers, as public finances
have been stretched thin and French Internet companies struggle to gain
traction.
“We want to work to ensure that Europe is not a tax haven for a certain
number of Internet giants,” the digital economy minister, Fleur
Pellerin, told reporters in Paris on Friday.
But getting Google and other U.S. technology companies to pay more
corporate taxes on their profits in France could take a long time, the
report acknowledges, because this will require international
cooperation.
In the meantime, France has discussed a variety of other taxes. Under
the predecessor to Mr. Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy, the government
proposed a levy on Internet advertising. But that idea languished after
local companies complained that it would affect them more than Google.
Mr. Hollande’s government is also overseeing talks between Google and
French online publishers, who want the search engine to pay them for
linking to their content.
Visit the source link for the rest of this informative article! These posts are for informational use only to educate people about their online income taxes and the financial world around them. If you found this helpful, share the original article or this one, and help spread the word! With tax season rapidly approaching let us get you the best income tax return you can possibly have by e-filing! Leave us a comment if you want to share your opinion.
Visit our site: http://www.onlinetaxpros.com
And our blog: http://www.onlinetaxprofessionals.blogspot.com
Please like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/onlinetaxpros
and follow us on Twitter: @onlinetaxpros
No comments:
Post a Comment