(CNN Enterprise)The US authorities introduced new, suspended tariffs on Wednesday towards six international locations in response to these governments’ digital companies taxes, the workplace of the US Commerce Consultant mentioned.
The six international locations topic to the tariffs, which are set at 25% on about $2 billion value of products, embody Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the UK. The extra duties shall be prevented from taking impact for as much as 180 days whereas the US continues negotiating on a proposed international tax regime by means of the Group for Financial Co-operation and Growth and the G20 course of, USTR mentioned.
International governments have long complained that enormous tech corporations akin to Apple, Fb, and Google ought to pay them extra in taxes. Some have lately handed taxes particularly concentrating on income generated by such corporations, together with these based mostly within the US akin to Fb, Google, and Amazon.
The UK, for instance, has imposed a 2% tax on the revenues of social media platforms, search engines like google, and online marketplaces, arguing that as a result of these corporations’ revenue from UK-based customers, the UK deserves a share of these features.”
The applying of the present company tax guidelines to companies working within the digital economic system has led to a misalignment between the place income is taxed and the place worth is created,” the UK government has said.
The US’s response to the digital companies’ taxes displays its opposition to what it views as discriminatory insurance policies concentrating on massive, profitable Silicon Valley corporations with a worldwide attain. In March, USTR proposed an estimated $880 million in mixed new tariffs towards the six international locations, amid an investigation of the overseas taxes beneath Part 301 of the Commerce Act of 1974.
The ultimate tariff determines affecting greater than $2 billion of products covers imported merchandise together with shrimp, carpets, beauty gadgets, clothes, and online game consoles, amongst different issues.
“America stays dedicated to reaching a consensus on worldwide tax points by means of the OECD and G20 processes,” mentioned US Commerce Consultant Katherine Tai in an announcement. “At this time’s actions present time for these negotiations to proceed to make progress whereas sustaining the choice of imposing tariffs beneath Part 301 if warranted sooner or later.”