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Gafa tax: "Do not believe that Google and Facebook will pay for the crisis"

2020-06-23T04:49:09.936Z


Pascal Saint-Amans, prime contractor for negotiations at the OECD level, underlines that France would have a lot to lose in a communal war.


For Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the Center for Tax Policy and Administration of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States has not definitely slammed the door on negotiations on digital taxation. An agreement is possible.

The United States has withdrawn from the ongoing work on the taxation of Gafa. Is this the end of negotiations?

PASCAL SAINT-AMANS. You must restore the exact course. The United States is not stopping negotiations, it is asking for a political pause. To put it another way, they say: "The timing does not suit us because of the Covid and the elections in November. We will not sign in 2020, but we can have an agreement in 2021, let's continue to work until then. "

So this twist applies exclusively to the political signature?

Indeed, what gives this arrival a little confused message. But you don't have - as we are used to now, with the Trump administration - to fuck off all ( Editor's note: All of you are going to do it ... ). Washington, on the contrary, remains very committed because only an OECD solution is possible. In fact, it is essential that negotiations continue with a view to reaching a speedy conclusion. Otherwise, the risks of trade wars are high. They would do immense damage in a historically deteriorated economic situation.

Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, spoke of "provocation". Is he wrong?

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He is not wrong either. From the point of view of the partners of the United States, the deadline was 2020. We were in the process of developing the solution, we were close to an agreement, and finally this withdrawal… You can logically lose patience!

Other EU members are annoyed ...

More and more countries want to tax digital companies, which makes even more sense after the crisis. During the confinement, people saw the corner shop and the Amazon delivery boy move around, as a symbol of the fact that the digital economy as a whole was doing quite well.

In the short term, is taxation of Gafa possible without the United States?

Some countries may move unilaterally, but subject to retaliatory measures. They can also continue to negotiate by saying: "Here we are, the United States will just have to sign at the bottom right. It is not absurd to develop a solution within the OECD and wait for the American election. Either it's Trump, and we'll be on a new post-election dynamic. Either it's Biden and basically: new balls, new game.

The EU must complete its 2021-2027 budget. Can the Gafa tax pay off?

No. In France, this tax brought in 350 million euros last year. At the European level, we are on a few billion euros ... Do not believe that Google and Facebook will pay for the crisis. The Gafa tax is first and foremost a symbol, a question of tax justice.

What is France risking by restoring its Gafa tax?

A trade war which would seriously damage the return to growth ... Paris will collect 500 million euros, but is liable to take 2.5 billion euros in customs duties on French products - cheese, champagne and handbags, among others.

Source: leparis

All business articles on 2020-06-23

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