Tech Giants Set to Face 3% Tax on Revenue Under New EU Plan
Personally, I like this proposal. I like that it&#x27;s simple: any overly complex system will almost inevitably result in distortion and loopholes. A few points of my favorite points:<p>* It&#x27;s done on revenues and not profits. This avoids the impossible question of where profits are realized: if you make money in one country but displace that earning by costs somewhere else, it&#x27;s practically impossible to determine where the tax should go.<p>* It&#x27;s uniform across the EU and so it doesn&#x27;t incentivize companies to base themselves in any member over another. This avoids the distortion we have now with Ireland&#x27;s permissive tax system siphoning up all the company headquarters and with it the (scanty) tax revenue.<p>* Each member receives money based on the number of users they have in their own country, meaning they have a strong incentive to increase usage of digital services and a disincentive to put in place regulatory measures that would decrease adoption and harm growth.<p>One of the problems of the current situation is that it sets tech companies up as these parasitic monsters that creep into a country, make huge profits, alter the society as they see fit, and give nothing in return. The best thing about this proposal is that it sets up a harmonious relationship: governments get to make money while companies get to have their access to citizens legitimized. With that legitimacy comes better PR and a seat at the table as legal systems everywhere catch up to the world tech companies have created.<p>Plus it might finally put that ridiculous &quot;tech companies are tax evaders&quot; meme to rest.