Tax

U.S. tech will slip the new global tax net

25 May 2021

The G7 may soon agree a 15% minimum corporate levy. That’s too low to stop profit being shifted to havens, which may dream up new sweeteners. And until Amazon and others pay taxes where they make sales, countries like France, Britain, and India will lose out as tech profit grows.

Capital Calls: Bitcoin, Procore

20 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: Getting paid in cryptocurrencies loses allure in U.S. President Joe Biden's tax plan; the $11 bln building software firm is a bargain compared to peers.

Capital Calls: Amazon EU tax win, Scooter SPAC

21 Jan 2022

Concise views on global finance: Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce giant wins a victory over the European Union, but the battle has already moved on; Bird’s $2.3 billion price tag is relatively high but less pie-in-the-sky than some recent deals.

Guest view: Colombia’s struggle against poverty

11 May 2021

President Duque’s shift of tax burdens to the poor and middle class backfired. Despite their withdrawal and the finance minister’s exit, protests will continue until the country starts reversing Latin America’s worst income inequality, Smith College’s Veronica Kessler writes.

Corporate tax reform may help Ireland in the end

4 May 2021

The Emerald Isle’s allure as a low-levy destination will fade if a global minimum tax rate is agreed. Dublin wants to maintain its appeal by spending over 4% of GDP to fix problems like poor public transport. Such investment will lay the foundations for a more balanced economy.

Biden places $4 trln bet on outsmarting the rich

29 Apr 2021

The U.S. president’s education, childcare and infrastructure sprees are supposed to juice economic growth, while being paid for by taxing the wealthy and companies. How well that works depends on whether plutocrats behave as planned. They have a big incentive to act differently.

Shock at Biden capital-gains tax plan looks staged

23 Apr 2021

A plan to double the rate for the richest to nearly 40% has brought criticism from wealthy investors. But it has been in plain sight for months. It would also raise needed revenue for Washington and bring taxes on investment and regular pay closer with little risk to the economy.

Biden’s offshore tax push may undo a Trump success

15 Apr 2021

The U.S. president's predecessor discouraged companies from moving – and keeping – profit overseas. Biden's plan to boost corporate taxes includes a higher levy on foreign income. The package would help federal coffers but risks eroding incentives to bring money home.

U.S. corporate tax hike is mostly no big deal

14 Apr 2021

Joe Biden’s plan to raise the rate to 28% from 21% would boost Washington’s coffers. For companies and investors, though, it may not matter much over time. In a series of charts, Breakingviews illustrates why. Within reason, America’s tax rate will remain competitive, too.

Review: Tax’s weird past exposes present oddities

9 Apr 2021

State levies propelled historical turning points from Magna Carta to the Boston Tea Party. “Rebellion, Rascals and Revenue” turns these episodes into an elegant tax-theory primer. Current practices, like rules for multinationals, prove no stranger than peculiarities of yesterday.

Path out of global tax combat is slowly emerging

8 Apr 2021

A new U.S. proposal would allow other countries to raise more money from tech giants like Facebook, the FT reported. It’s a concession that could unlock a broader deal on a global minimum levy. Low-tax states, like Ireland, and big multinationals may have no way to avoid a hit.

Yellen global minimum tax is step too far in D.C.

6 Apr 2021

The U.S. Treasury chief is on board with an OECD initiative to end a race to the bottom on company taxes. It’s a logical goal for most big economies. But nailing a global pact is tough. It would also mean one more fight in Congress, where Joe Biden needs to pick his battles.

Rosier IMF forecasts are riddled with inequalities

6 Apr 2021

The international lender upgraded its global growth forecasts for this year and next. But there is a gulf between haves and have-nots, across countries and within them. Some of the sound advice it is doling out to mitigate the problem may be hard for governments to implement.

Breakdown: Carbon border tax isn’t about carbon

22 Mar 2021

Europe and the U.S. look like they are upping their climate game by mulling a levy on high-carbon imports. But it’s also a way to level the playing field. Companies end up with less reason to move to high-polluting places like China; domestic firms get credit for staying.

UK online levy procrastination may be helpful

22 Feb 2021

Finance minister Rishi Sunak has delayed a decision on whether to impose a 2% sales tax on internet retailers like Amazon. He misses out on some tax revenue in the short term but buys time for joined-up thinking on how to level the playing field for firms that pay property tax.

Guest view: Virus teaches the limits of economics

8 Feb 2021

Faced with ballooning deficits, governments are reversing decades of reduced corporate taxes. It’s an overdue recognition the policy never delivered the promised benefits, argues Tom Bergin. Other misguided theories, from labour taxes to tobacco levies, are also due a rethink.

The Exchange: The long life of bad economic ideas

2 Feb 2021

From self-funding tax cuts to runaway executive pay, economists have provided intellectual support for seriously flawed policies. Reuters journalist Tom Bergin, author of “Free Lunch Thinking” tells Peter Thal Larsen how dodgy theories helped mislead politicians and the public.

UK’s duty-free golden goose will become albatross

30 Dec 2020

The government’s plan to end tax rebates for inbound tourists was part of its EU horse-trading. But it’s a needless hit to ailing retailers’ Asian custom. Instead of raising revenue in 2021, it will just become a symbol of the UK’s Brexit-era capacity for reckless self-harm.

Time for India to end its global tax fights

23 Dec 2020

The Hague awarded Cairn Energy $1.4 bln in its spat with New Delhi, more than the UK group’s market cap. Vodafone had a similar win. Accepting these outcomes would make Boris Johnson’s January visit run smoothly, and inject credibility into India’s global investment ambitions.

Russia’s wheat tax scrapes bottom of policy barrel

22 Dec 2020

Fiscal conservatism and administrative issues make it tricky for Moscow to support citizens via European-style furloughs. Its Plan B, a levy on wheat exports, is supposed to limit domestic food price inflation. But in doing so it will probably undermine a key Russian industry.