英国推“谷歌税”打击避税

 最近，几大科技巨头似乎相当默契地和税收问题杠上了。微软刚对跨国避税事件做出澄清，英国政府又准备以“谷歌税”(Google Tax)的名义对众多科技企业下手。

UK Treasury chief George Osborne has introduced a new 25% tax on foreign companies’ profits derived from economic activity in the UK. He singled out tech companies as particular abusers of the system. Though he didn’t name names, the British press quickly dubbed the measure the “Google tax”.

日前，英国财政大臣乔治•奥斯本推出一项针对外国公司的新税，即在英国开展经济活动所得利润要被课以25%的税。奥斯本专门提到，科技公司在滥用税收制度方面尤其严重。虽然他没有指名道姓，但英国媒体很快就将这一举措戏称为“谷歌税”。

The proposal, which would take effect April 1, 2015, at a time when the European Union and individual member states have been pressuring large US companies to pay more taxes. Backed by the Conservative majority, the measures would likely be passed easily by the House of Commons.

这一提案将于明年4月1日起生效。发起这一提案的背景是，欧盟与其成员国不断向美国大公司施压，要求它们缴纳更多税款。由于得到议会多数党保守党的支持，这一提案可能会轻易获得下议院通过。