A new trade war? US opens new investigations into countries planning digital taxes – By Silvia Amaro (CNBC) / June 3 2020
- The U.S. trade representative it investigating Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom for implementing or planning to put forward new taxes on digital giants.
- The OECD is due to present a plan by the end of 2020.
- The U.S. signaled at the start of the year that it would support some aspects of a digital tax if the scheme would be voluntary rather than compulsory for American companies.
The United States is stepping up pressure on other countries over negotiations for a digital services tax, opening new probes into nations planning higher duties on tech giants.
The U.S. trade representative announced Tuesday it’s investigating Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom for implementing or planning to put forward new taxes on digital giants. The subject has sparked division between the U.S. and France before and it could ultimately mean higher trade tariffs for these countries.
“A warning shot from (the) USTR to signal seriousness and urgency, and to put more pressure on the OECD process to go quickly and in the US direction,” David Livingston, a senior analyst at Eurasia Group based in the U.S., told CNBC Tuesday.
France was the first major economy to legislate a digital services tax, but after threats from the United States that it would charge more from French exporters, Paris decided to postpone collecting the first payments until 2021.
In the meantime, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has been working on a plan that would bring together the U.S., France and other countries over how to tax digital firms.
The OECD is due to present a plan by the end of 2020. France has said that if international talks fail, tech firms will still have to pay the tax.
Continue to article: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/03/us-probes-uk-india-brazil-the-eu-and-others-for-digital-tax-plans.html
