On Tech Companies and Taxes

European Straits #31

Dear all,

The topic of corporate taxation in the digital economy has been raging since at least 2010. The discussion is usually fueled by European governments. Sometime that is a leftist government genuinely concerned with low taxation rates in the corporate world. Or it may be a pro-business government pursuing lower corporate tax rates—but since those are unpopular, elected officials try to find a corporate enemy to prove that they’re nonetheless tough on multinational businesses. In the latter case, large US tech companies look like the ideal scapegoat.

The pro-business version of “Tech companies should pay more” is what once happened with David Cameron, such as when he went after Starbucks and Amazon, or with the epic hearing of a Google executive in the House of Commons. Now the same pro-business / anti-tech stance is happening again, this time in France, where the pro-business Macron administration just spent the summer vowing to crack down on US tech companies. I dare say I know …