<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div style>Guru said:</div><div style><br></div><div><span style="background-color:rgba(255,255,255,0)">The scandalously low effective tax rates of the IT transnationals can also be seen as some kind of implicit subsidy ... and measures/experiments like that of the French Govt are required to help correct this situation - by reducing the lobbying power of these corporates and also getting the funding required by governments to support basic societal infrastructure, including soft infrastructure like public education and public health.. </span></div>
<div><span style><br></span></div><div><span style>My reply:</span></div><div><span style><br></span></div><div><span style>The rates being paid by IT companies are not different than other types of companies. For example, I believe GE paid effectively 14% tax globally last year. Corporate tax rates overall do not differentiate by sector - though, of course, some vertical markets do get exemptions and credits designed to encourage certain activities by them.</span></div>
<div><span style><br></span></div><div><span style>If you believe that companies should pay more, that's fine - but to suggest that IT companies are particularly bad in some way does a disservice, I think, to the overall objective which many seek: reforming the tax system so that companies, in general, pay a larger share of tax.</span></div>
<div><span style><br></span></div><div><span style>This is, by the way, extremely complex and there are powerful incentives for countries to incentivise FDI by, among other measures, favourable tax regimes. It will be incredibly difficult to get enough countries that are desirable markets for industry to sign up to a broad range of measures to synchronise taxes to produce the desired end - the incentives to attract FDI are simply very powerful.</span></div>
<div><span style><br></span></div><div><span style>What the French are proposing (not for the first time) is not going to help anything; it is soapbox policy, designed for an internal audience of French people. Like the 75% tax on wealthy individuals they propose, it wouldn't raise enough money to solve France's real deficit issues; it would just make France even less competitive an economy than it already is.</span></div>
<div><span style><br></span></div><div><span style>Folks, is tax policy really what people are interested in having an effect on in the IGC list? Is this a battle you really want to enter into, given the very real threats the open Internet faces today?<br>
</span><br><div style>-- </div><div style>Regards,</div><div style> </div><div style>Nick Ashton-Hart</div><div style><br></div><div style><b>Need to meet with me? Schedule the time that suits us both here: <a href="http://meetme.so/nashton">http://meetme.so/nashton</a></b></div>
<div style><br></div><div style><span style>Sent from my one of my handheld thingies, please excuse linguistic mangling.</span></div></div><div style><br>On 26 Jan 2013, at 04:49, "Guru गुरु" <<a href="mailto:Guru@itforchange.net">Guru@itforchange.net</a>> wrote:<br>
<br></div><blockquote type="cite" style>The scandalously low effective tax rates of the IT transnationals
can also be seen as some kind of implicit subsidy ... and
measures/experiments like that of the French Govt are required to
help correct this situation - by reducing the lobbying power of
these corporates and also getting the funding required by
governments to support basic societal infrastructure, including soft
infrastructure like public education and public health.. </blockquote></body></html>