France is giving unilateralism a go

“DON’T TAX you, don’t tax me, tax that fellow behind the tree.” Historically, this rhyme has poked fun at the tax-shy American public. Today it reflects complaints against the French government, which on July 25th introduced a tax on digital services. American companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Google are protesting that they are being treated like the fellow behind the tree. President Donald Trump is itching to hit back. Unilateralism is a language he can understand.

At the heart of the dispute lies a mismatch between where companies make their profits and where those profits are booked for tax purposes. Governments wail that as data and ideas can zip across borders, taxable profits can slip between their tax-collectors’ fingers. The solution requires international co-ordination, to avoid everyone trying to tax the same stuff at once. But negotiations overseen by the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, are taking too long for the French.

Hence their levy of 3% on the revenues generated from French users of online platforms and digital advertising. The tax is blunt, but that is part of the point. It is meant as an interim measure, to be ditched once an international agreement is reached. It could even make a deal more likely. Affected companies may prefer that to unilateral taxes, and lobby for it.

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