The European Commission's proposed tax o

题库2022-08-02  21

问题 The European Commission's proposed tax on digital services is intended to make companies such as Google and Uber pay more.The idea is that such firms are gaming the rules at the expense of other taxpayers.The issue is real and needs to be addressed-but the answer under discussion breaks with both established international practice and plain common sense.Formal talks on the plan are due to start this week.The commission is calling for a 3 percent tax on the turnover of large digital enterprises-those with EU digital revenues over 50 million euros and total global revenues of over 750 million euros.About half the companies affected would be American,the EU estimates.The commission says it has been left with little choice.The value generated by digital companies doesn't require a physical presence,making them harder to rax.Digital businesses arrange their affairs to exploit this:They allocate income to low-tax jurisdictions and,according to officials,end up paying an effective tax of roughly 10 percent of profits,less than half of the burden carried by traditional businesses.Officials acknowledge that the right solution is a thorough overhaul of the corporate tax code,especially as it affects international firms selling digital services-and that this should be done not unilaterally but in cooperation with other countries,notably the U.S.Efforts are in fact underway,but progress has been slow,and EU officials have chosen to do something,anything,as soon as possible.Doing nothing would be better than this.For a start,the plan wouldn't raise much revenue-a meager 5 billion euros each year.And this supposedly fairer tax would bring abnormal results.For instance,companies such as Uber that don't make money will have a new cost to absorb;highly profitable firms with market power,such as Facebook,will be able to pass the tax on to their consumers.Small startups will be exempt from the new tax-unless they're acquired by larger companies.That will discourage consolidations.And the proposal as it stands may tax more activities than intended:Some financial services,for example,seem to be within its scope In its zeal to tax digital enterprises,the commission departs from many of its own stated principles.Its plan would probably require accessing individual,not just anonymized,user data.This runs counter to the EU's strict new rules on privacy,coming into force next month.Efforts to design a multinational solution need to be stepped up,not set aside.The goal should be a fair,multilateral framework that recognizes the complexity of the new digital economy while respecting the sovereignty of nations to set their own tax policy.That's an international challenge demanding an international solution.To which of the following would EU officials most probably agree?A.Traditional business lax cut is necessary in the digital era.B.The pace of global corporate tax reform is too slow.C.Europe should reduce the number of Iow-tax jurisdictions.D.Corporate tax code is being revised in favor of the U,S.

选项 A.Traditional business lax cut is necessary in the digital era.
B.The pace of global corporate tax reform is too slow.
C.Europe should reduce the number of Iow-tax jurisdictions.
D.Corporate tax code is being revised in favor of the U,S.

答案 B

解析 第三、四段介绍欧盟官员观点(The commission says.…Officials acknowledge...)。第四段先指f|{官员们认可“多边合作改革公司税法”为最佳解决方案,随后转而阐明“国际上公司税改革进展太慢、多边解决方案难以实现”,故欧盟选择先行一步。B.契合欧盟观点。[解题技巧]A.由第三段③句“数字公司所缴税费不到传统企业的一半”反向臆断出“传统企业税太高,需减免”。C.由第三段③句“数字公司将无形资产转移至低税收辖区来避税”臆断出“欧洲应削减低税收辖区数量”,但文中并未提及“低税收辖区数量的管控问题”。D.由第四段“欧盟尤其应与美国合作改革公司税法”主观推断出“欧盟官员认为全球性公司税改革偏向美国”。
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