Biden administration threatens tariffs on UK goods in 'tech tax' row

[GummyVitamins]

Biden administration threatens tariffs on UK goods in 'tech tax' row

Ceramics, make-up and furniture could be hit amid a row over a new UK tax on tech firms.

www.bbc.com

The US has warned it could put tariffs of up to 25% on a host of UK exports in retaliation for a UK tax on tech firms.

Ceramics, make-up, overcoats, games consoles and furniture could all be hit, according to a list published by the Biden administration.

The duties are designed to raise $325m, the amount the US believes the UK tax will raise from US tech companies.

A UK government spokesperson said it wanted to "make sure tech firms pay their fair share of tax".

They added: "Should the US proceed to implement these measures, we would consider all options to defend UK interests and industry."

Washington is pressing ahead with the action, initiated under President Trump, and has scheduled hearings on the list.

It argues the recently introduced digital services tax - which taxes tech firms on their revenues - has "unreasonable, discriminatory, and burdensome attributes".

Biden is continuing the Trump trade war with our allies in the UK. This is something I'm personally happy to see, but I assume half you guys would have been foaming at the mouth had it been Trump doing this. If anything Biden needs to be tougher on this issue. His administration has dropped some key fights that would have protected our national interests. The world has been using the US as a piggy bank and it needs to stop.

 

[swing_voter]

Europe has always been jealous of our tech sector.

They've fined Microsoft, Google and Facebook billions of dollars and for trumped up charges.

If you're a European politician and you want to score points with European voters, attack something American, like a tech company.


.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Stupid move to fight your allies when you are wanting them to help in other more strategic area’s.


The US under Trump lost the holistic viewpoint of using trade as part of diplomacy and influence. Biden is continuing that.

As for the UK to tax on tech firm revenues. As those firms often hide profits generated within a country, using revenues as a proxy will ensure those countries can generate corporate tax revenue as they should. This would generally hit tech companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon, primarily in the service side of the tech industry

 

[snakestretcher]

Europe has always been jealous of our tech sector.

They've fined Microsoft, Google and Facebook billions of dollars and for trumped up charges.

If you're a European politician and you want to score points with European voters, attack something American, like a tech company.


.

What trumped up charges? Courts administer fines according to evidence provided; argue with them and present your evidence that charges were trumped up. And quit this jealousy nonsense.

 

[Metric Mouse]

Goat kissing Jesus Joe, what are you thinking? Keeping disastrous tariffs on China and threatening new tariffs on UK? Did he pick up the Trump playbook by accident?

 

[snakestretcher]

Goat kissing Jesus Joe, what are you thinking? Keeping disastrous tariffs on China and threatening new tariffs on UK? Did he pick up the Trump playbook by accident?

Yes, threatening tariffs because the UK has the audacity to require foreign businesses operating in and profiting from Britain to pay their fair share of taxes?

 

[OrphanSlug]

While I do not like the direction all of this is going, it was bound to happen given the EU's and UK's propensity to go after US tech companies.

The only way around all this mess is to get everyone to the table, but Trumpism trade and foreign policy polluted those waters perhaps beyond repair.

Looks like Biden is doubling down on the lunacy.

 

[snakestretcher]

While I do not like the direction all of this is going, it was bound to happen given the EU's and UK's propensity to go after US tech companies.

The only way around all this mess is to get everyone to the table, but Trumpism trade and foreign policy polluted those waters perhaps beyond repair.

Looks like Biden is doubling down on the lunacy.

By "going after" you of course mean 'pay your business taxes while profiting from our country'.

 

[OrphanSlug]

By "going after" you of course mean 'pay your business taxes while profiting from our country'.

I mean going after. You can pretend all you want that you have some one sided moral justification for all this but the reality is your opposition was bound to respond no matter what clever whip you come up with next.

This is what it means to be on the international stage. There was a solution, get everyone to the table and talk this out.

You seem to agree with the child like arrogance of the EU / UK position on this, that your taxation decisions would be monumentally accepted by everyone else as is. Well, nope. In this case Biden took the baton from Trump and matched EU / UK arrogance with American arrogance.

Who loses?

Everyone else, especially the consumer who ultimately pays for all these taxes, tariffs, and whatever the hell else gets added in.

 

[snakestretcher]

I mean going after. You can pretend all you want that you have some one sided moral justification for all this but the reality is your opposition was bound to respond no matter what clever whip you come up with next.

This is what it means to be on the international stage. There was a solution, get everyone to the table and talk this out.

You seem to agree with the child like arrogance of the EU / UK position on this, that your taxation decisions would be monumentally accepted by everyone else as is. Well, nope. In this case Biden took the baton from Trump and matched EU / UK arrogance with American arrogance.

Who loses?

Everyone else, especially the consumer who ultimately pays for all these taxes, tariffs, and whatever the hell else gets added in.

If a foreign business operates in Britain and profits from British citizens like me, why should it not pay taxes like I do? Foreign businesses don't like our tax system? Fine; they can piss off and take their business elsewhere. These are OUR rules in OUR country...

HMRC issue briefing: taxing the profits of companies that are not resident in the UK

www.gov.uk

 

[OrphanSlug]

If a foreign business operates in Britain and profits from British citizens like me, why should it not pay taxes like I do? Don't like our tax system? Fine; piss off and take your business elsewhere. These are OUR rules...

HMRC issue briefing: taxing the profits of companies that are not resident in the UK

www.gov.uk

Again, if you want to be on the international stage of trade (and we know the UK does even if you are unwilling to admit it) then it is not entirely about "our rules."

That is the same silly stupid arrogance that starts just about every single trade war known throughout history.

But by all means, find another statement that proves my point for me.

 

[snakestretcher]

Again, if you want to be on the international stage of trade (and we know the UK does even if you are unwilling to admit it) then it is not entirely about "our rules."

That is the same silly stupid arrogance that starts just about every single trade war known throughout history.

But by all means, find another statement that proves my point for me.

Great Britain already is on the international trade stage, has been for centuries and will remain so..

 

[OrphanSlug]

Great Britain already is on the international trade stage, has been for centuries and will remain so..

The sad irony is you do not even have the backing of the EU now to pretend you can dictate world trade to your favor.

But find another article we are waiting, or better yet that the US should cave to this.

(BTW, anyone else appreciating the irony of this poster pretty much ensuring Biden doubles down on Trump's path, which was a response to EU / UK path, which in the end punishes the consumer the most.)

 

[snakestretcher]

The sad irony is you do not even have the backing of the EU now to pretend you can dictate world trade to your favor.

But find another article we are waiting, or better yet that the US should cave to this.

(BTW, anyone else appreciating the irony of this poster pretty much ensuring Biden doubles down on Trump's path, which was a response to EU / UK path, which in the end punishes the consumer the most.)

We are dictating nothing. Rules are rules. You either follow them or go elsewhere. What do you expect, US corporate tax laws operating in Britain and benefiting the US at our expense? Never happen.

 

[OrphanSlug]

We are dictating nothing. Rules are rules. You either follow them or go elsewhere. What do you expect, US corporate tax laws operating in Britain and benefiting the US at our expense? Never happen.

Which is why you bring people to the table and negotiate, this cannot be that difficult... even for you.

All international trade has negotiation, all of it subject to continual negotiation.

And if you are so arrogant as to assume the US is in the wrong *and* that the US does not compromise taxation for trade you are ignorantly sleeping through history.

 

[snakestretcher]

Which is why you bring people to the table and negotiate, this cannot be that difficult... even for you.

All international trade has negotiation, all of it subject to continual negotiation.

And if you are so arrogant as to assume the US is in the wrong *and* that the US does not compromise taxation for trade you are ignorantly sleeping through history.

US firms don't like the idea of negotiation if the alternative is massive profits...

Amazon paid just £6.3m in UK corporation tax last year despite £13.55bn in sales - Latest Retail Technology News From Across The Globe - Charged

Amazon paid just £6.3 million in corporation tax in the UK last year, despite raking in more than £13 billion in sales.

www.chargedretail.co.uk

 

[OrphanSlug]

US firms don't like the idea of negotiation if the alternative is massive profits...

Amazon paid just £6.3m in UK corporation tax last year despite £13.55bn in sales - Latest Retail Technology News From Across The Globe - Charged

Amazon paid just £6.3 million in corporation tax in the UK last year, despite raking in more than £13 billion in sales.

www.chargedretail.co.uk

One firm, run along... go find more.

Oh, and from your source... "Despite coming under continuous criticism from politicians and public figures alike, Amazon maintains it pays the legal amount of corporation tax in the UK, which is based on profits as opposed to turnover. "

 

[snakestretcher]

One firm, run along... go find more.

Oh, and from your source... "Despite coming under continuous criticism from politicians and public figures alike, Amazon maintains it pays the legal amount of corporation tax in the UK, which is based on profits as opposed to turnover. "

"Amazon maintains...". Of course they do! 'My mass murderer client is innocent' says the defence lawyer.

 

[OrphanSlug]

"Amazon maintains...". Of course they do! 'My mass murderer client is innocent' says the defence lawyer.

Then audit them and extract more. Where are those sources that prove the US never trades taxation for trade? (Your assertion that so far you have been incapable of backing up.)

 

[snakestretcher]

Then audit them and extract more. Where are those sources that prove the US never trades taxation for trade? (Your assertion that so far you have been incapable of backing up.)

Oh, and here's a couple more who don't like paying taxes in Britain...

Google, Amazon, Starbucks: The rise of 'tax shaming'

There seems to be a growing culture of naming and shaming companies that avoid corporate tax. But what impact does it have?

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[joko104]

Biden immediately proved who he works for:

1. Russia/Putin: Shutting down American oil and gas exploration and pipelines is a trillion dollar pay-off to the Russia oil and gas industry

2. China/Xi Jinping: Pushing for electric cars including all federal cars to be electric rewards China/Xi Jinping since China produces the rare earths for electric cars.

3. The plutocrats: All of the MSM/newspapers and Internet owned and controlled by Big Tech and the plutocrats declared Joe Biden would be the Democratic Party's nominee - censoring and attacking the other Democratic Party candidates - after Joe Biden promised not to race their taxes. We now see Biden vowing a trade war against the UK for daring to tax the richest corporations and people on earth - while promising to raise taxes on small middle class merchants.

 

[OrphanSlug]

Oh, and here's a couple more who don't like paying taxes in Britain...

Google, Amazon, Starbucks: The rise of 'tax shaming'

There seems to be a growing culture of naming and shaming companies that avoid corporate tax. But what impact does it have?

www.bbc.co.uk

I'm waiting.

 

[Metric Mouse]

The sad irony is you do not even have the backing of the EU now to pretend you can dictate world trade to your favor.

But find another article we are waiting, or better yet that the US should cave to this.

(BTW, anyone else appreciating the irony of this poster pretty much ensuring Biden doubles down on Trump's path, which was a response to EU / UK path, which in the end punishes the consumer the most.)

Why is it ironic? Did anyone actually believe Biden would be any different than Trump in most policy issues?

 

[CaughtInThe]

Patience.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

One firm, run along... go find more.

Oh, and from your source... "Despite coming under continuous criticism from politicians and public figures alike, Amazon maintains it pays the legal amount of corporation tax in the UK, which is based on profits as opposed to turnover. "

It paid the legally required amount of tax, under the old taxation method

The UK is introducing a new taxation method which will change what Amazon will have to pay. Limiting the ability to avoid taxes