For big Internet corporations, it is currently quite easy to save with Tricks legal billion in taxes. In the end, this is supposed to be. The Finance Ministers of the G20 countries search for a common line.
The Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers is a preparation for a summit of their heads of state and government at the end of June
The 20 largest industrial and emerging countries (G20) to push a common set of rules which loopholes for international companies, such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon are closed. This is from the draft of the final Declaration should be adopted at the Meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank chiefs at the weekend in the Japanese Fukuoka. However, work on the Details is likely to be difficult. Because the USA want to prevent the tax rules to strong local technology companies to meet.
“We will redouble our efforts to find a solution in consensus,” – said in the draft, the Reuters news Agency, was present. Therefore, to be presented in 2020 and a final report.
The Basic Problem
In the case of digital corporations it is often very difficult to capture their economic activities as well as sales and profits in a country clearly. They have their headquarters mostly in one state, but by their users around the world in significant revenue. While companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple use frequently press a network of subsidiaries, with which you are able to make a profit from the large markets in tax havens and as a result, the tax burden still further. Yet often, this is completely legal.
Headquarters of the shipping Commerce giant Amazon in Luxembourg – The country offers very low tax rates
The EU Commission estimates that digital companies pay, on average, about nine percent corporate tax, classic enterprises, but more than 20 percent. The Organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD) is suspected, the state house of up to 240 billion dollars (211 billion euros) were lost by the tax tricks of the multinationals alone in the year 2015 in revenue.
The common tax regime in the G20 countries should now rest on two pillars. Firstly, new regulations that make it difficult for corporations to shift their profits to low-tax countries. The second pillar should be an international minimum tax. At the Meeting in Fukuoka, all were for the idea, said the German Finance Minister, Olaf Scholz. “Come now.” There will be more revenue for the States. Representatives of the German industry warned, however, against additional burdens for domestic companies.
Patchwork avoid
The introduction of an EU-wide digital tax for companies with a certain minimum turnover was failed due to the opposition of Ireland and the Scandinavian countries. Ireland ensured the global competitiveness of Europe. Some countries – including Britain and France, brought in as a result, national models for the digital tax on the way. This leads to a patchwork of international tax rules – and there is still the possibility of different systems to exploit, as it was known from German government circles.
That’s it for the States involved, it is better to pull together in the G20 are Finance Ministers largely agree. China’s Finance Minister Liu Kun said that a joint coordination was crucial, in order to avoid Double taxation. “A fragmented approach is not good for anyone of us,” said US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
A handshake, despite the criticism, the French Finance Minister Le Maire (l) and his US counterpart, Mnuchin
The United States had previously adopted a tax reform, the minimum tax rates are included. At the same time Mnuchin criticized, however, France and the UK for your course. The United States have significant concerns. However, it should be good, so Mnuchin, that as a result, the pressure had increased. His French counterpart Bruno Le Maire said that France will give up its exceptionalism, as soon as there is an international understanding.
The discussions, however, refer not only to Internet companies, but on a General revision of taxation. Emerging countries such as Indonesia and India requested that, in all industries, the location of the economic activity of the company’s seat is much more important to be. In the case of classic industrial Europe and also operated from the existing rules. Especially Germany as an industrial and exporting country would lose substantial tax revenue if more on-site consumption and not on production site would be taxed – for example, in the automotive industry. By 2020, there should be a total solution to all the questions.
ust/ml (rtr, dpa, afp)