3 ms·

Because the loopholes exist EU wide, but EU legislators failed to collaborate to close them. That's why individual nations try to find ways to level the field.

Because the loopholes exist EU wide, but EU legislators failed to collaborate to close them. That's why individual nations try to find ways to level the field. (As an Austrian I'm fairly certain that this has nothing to do with fairness: Everybody hates FB and Google at the moment, so the populists scream for taxation. At the same time Austrian companies who are active internationally get tax breaks.)

joejerryronnie 8y ago
>Everybody hates FB and Google at the moment Serious question for OP - do you think this is because people feel these companies are truly doing something wrong or a perception that these companies (and their employees in California/Silicon Valley) are making so much money that it's not fair?
- desas 8y ago
  It's not that they're making so much money, it's that they're making so much money and not contributing anything back. It's not just tech giants, Starbucks is another corporation that is often targeted for its tax practices.
- wukerplank 8y ago
  My perspective: Tax for the middle class is insanely high. Seeing companies like FB, Google, Amazon, Apple, etc. pull off insane stunts to "minimize" tax payments (because of their responsibility to the shareholder). They make (and hoard) insane amounts of money without giving back. You might say, "if you don't like them boycott them". For Amazon and Apple it's easy. Google and FB are inescapable if you need to advertise.
  - joejerryronnie 8y ago
    Thanks for your perspective! Is there any local push back on the high middle class tax rates?
    - zeroc8 8y ago
      Another Austrian here. The problem is not the rate per se, but the fact that those tax evasion practices of international conglomerates put local small and medium businesses at an unfair and unjustified disadvantage.
  - puzzle 8y ago
    As an aside, Google has owned land in Kronstorf for a decade. Presumably they pay property tax on it, even if it's not used? https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2008/11/21/google-confirms-new-data-center-in-austria https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2008/11/21/goog... Anyway, a little after that came out, I asked someone about the project's timeline. They didn't go into details, but they weren't optimistic. I don't know what has been going on between the two sides, but, ten years later, the land is still undeveloped. In the meantime, Google has built, expanded or announced data centers in Finland, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands and Denmark. I wonder what separates those from Austria.

joejerryronnie 8y ago

>Everybody hates FB and Google at the moment Serious question for OP - do you think this is because people feel these companies are truly doing something wrong or a perception that these companies (and their employees in California/Silicon Valley) are making so much money that it's not fair?

desas 8y ago
It's not that they're making so much money, it's that they're making so much money and not contributing anything back. It's not just tech giants, Starbucks is another corporation that is often targeted for its tax practices.
wukerplank 8y ago
My perspective: Tax for the middle class is insanely high. Seeing companies like FB, Google, Amazon, Apple, etc. pull off insane stunts to "minimize" tax payments (because of their responsibility to the shareholder). They make (and hoard) insane amounts of money without giving back. You might say, "if you don't like them boycott them". For Amazon and Apple it's easy. Google and FB are inescapable if you need to advertise.
- joejerryronnie 8y ago
  Thanks for your perspective! Is there any local push back on the high middle class tax rates?
  - zeroc8 8y ago
    Another Austrian here. The problem is not the rate per se, but the fact that those tax evasion practices of international conglomerates put local small and medium businesses at an unfair and unjustified disadvantage.
- puzzle 8y ago
  As an aside, Google has owned land in Kronstorf for a decade. Presumably they pay property tax on it, even if it's not used? https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2008/11/21/google-confirms-new-data-center-in-austria https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2008/11/21/goog... Anyway, a little after that came out, I asked someone about the project's timeline. They didn't go into details, but they weren't optimistic. I don't know what has been going on between the two sides, but, ten years later, the land is still undeveloped. In the meantime, Google has built, expanded or announced data centers in Finland, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands and Denmark. I wonder what separates those from Austria.