Global tax deal backed by 130 nations

Yahoo – AFP, Jürgen HECKER, July 1, 2021 

US digital giants are the main targets of the new tax

A total of 130 countries have agreed a global tax reform ensuring that multinationals pay their fair share wherever they operate, the OECD said on Thursday, but some EU states refused to sign up. 

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a statement that global companies, including US behemoths Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple would be taxed at a rate of at least 15 percent once the deal is implemented. 

The new tax regime will add some $150 billion to government coffers globally once it comes into force, which the OECD said it hoped would be in 2023. 

"The framework updates key elements of the century-old international tax system, which is no longer fit for purpose in a globalised and digitalised 21st century economy," the OECD said. 

The formal agreement follows an endorsement by the G7 group of wealthy nations last month, and negotiations now move to a meeting of the G20 group of developed and emerging economies on July 9-10 in Venice, Italy. 

US President Joe Biden said the latest deal "puts us in striking distance of full global agreement to halt the race to the bottom for corporate taxes." 

Germany, another backer of the tax reform, hailed it as a "colossal step towards tax justice", and France said it was "the most important tax agreement in a century". 

British finance minister Rishi Sunak, whose country holds the G7 presidency, said "the fact that 130 countries across the world, including all of the G20, are now on board, marks a further step in our mission to reform global tax". 

'In everyone's interest'

But EU low-tax countries Ireland and Hungary declined to sign up to the agreement reached in the OECD framework, the organisation said, highlighting lingering divisions on global taxation. 

Both countries are part of a group of EU nations also including Luxembourg and Poland that have relied on low tax rates to attract multinationals and build their economies. 

Ireland, the EU home to tech giants Facebook, Google and Apple, has a corporate tax rate of just 12.5 percent. 

Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has warned that the new rules could see Ireland lose 20 percent of its corporate revenue. 

On Thursday, Donohoe said Ireland still "broadly supports" the deal, but not the 15-percent tax floor. 

The tax plan got a much-needed boost from Joe Bidens's administration

"There is much to finalise before a comprehensive agreement is reached", he said, adding that Ireland would "constructively engage" in further discussions. 

Also expressing concerns is Switzerland -- known for its banking secrecy laws -- which said it would support the measures despite "major reservations" and that it hoped the interests of "small, innovative countries" be taken into account. 

An agreement for the implementation of the plan is planned for October. 

Nine of the 139 participants in the talks have so far not signed on to the agreement. 

But China, whose position was being closely watched as it offers tax incentives to key sectors, endorsed the agreement. 

"It is in everyone's interest that we reach a final agreement among all Inclusive Framework Members as scheduled later this year," said OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann. 

"This package does not eliminate tax competition, as it should not, but it does set multilaterally agreed limitations on it," Cormann said, adding that "it also accommodates the various interests across the negotiating table, including those of small economies and developing jurisdictions". 

'More equitable' global economy 

Finance chiefs have characterised a minimum tax as necessary to stem competition between countries over who can offer multinationals the lowest rate. 

For Biden, a global tax agreement will help maintain US competitiveness since he has proposed hiking domestic corporate taxes to pay for an infrastructure and jobs programme with a price tag of around $2 trillion. 

Biden -- whose tax plans face a potentially uphill battle in Congress -- hailed an "important step in moving the global economy forward to be more equitable for workers and middle class families in the United States and around the world." 

He noted that those nations who signed up make up more than 90 percent of the world's economy. 

The OECD's statement said the package "will provide much-needed support to governments needing to raise necessary revenues" to fix their budgets and invest in measures to back the post-Covid recovery. 

Oxfam, a charity, meanwhile said that the deal fell short of a tax level needed to give poorer countries a sufficient share of additional tax revenue. 

Calling the deal "skewed-to-the-rich and completely unfair", Oxfam said that signatories had missed a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a profoundly more equal world".

Amazon to invest $10 bn in space-based internet system

Yahoo – AFP, July 31, 2020

Amazon could deliver satellite-based internet service to the US and other parts of
the world without reliable access through its Project Kuiper, which will deploy
some 3,000 satellites (AFP Photo/Philippe LOPEZ)

Washington (AFP) - Amazon says it will invest $10 billion for its planned space-based internet delivery system after winning US regulatory approval to deploy more than 3,000 low-orbit satellites.

The US tech giant said on Thursday it is moving forward with its Project Kuiper, one of several systems planned to bring internet to customers without land-based connections.

Project Kuiper aims to deliver satellite-based broadband services in the United States, and eventually around the world, and may offer connectively for wireless carriers and 5G networks.

Amazon offer no timetable for the project but said it would begin deployment of its 3,236 satellites after the Federal Communications Commission approved the project.

"We have heard so many stories lately about people who are unable to do their job or complete schoolwork because they don't have reliable internet at home," said Amazon senior vice president Dave Limp.

"There are still too many places where broadband access is unreliable or where it doesn't exist at all. Kuiper will change that. Our $10 billion investment will create jobs and infrastructure around the United States that will help us close this gap."

Project Kuiper seeks to deliver high-speed broadband service to places beyond the reach of traditional fiber or wireless networks, including disaster relief.

It will be aimed at individual households, as well as schools, hospitals, businesses and other organizations.

An Amazon statement said the project also aims to "deliver an affordable customer terminal that will make fast, reliable broadband accessible to communities around the world."

Kuiper is one of several projects to deliver internet from space begun over the past decades.

Elon Musk's SpaceX and British-based OneWeb, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, are working on similar projects.

Pandemic gives fresh momentum to digital voice technology

Yahoo – AFP, Rob Lever, May 10, 2020

Voice-activated digital assistants such as Amazon's Alexa and rivals from Google,
Apple and others may become more important in light of the virus pandemic (AFP
Photo/JUSTIN SULLIVAN)

Washington (AFP) - In a world suddenly fearful of touch, voice technology is getting a fresh look.

Voice-activated systems such as Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple's Siri have seen strong growth in recent years, and the virus pandemic could accelerate that, analysts say.

Voice assistants are not only answering queries and shopping, but also being used for smart home control and for a range of business and medical applications which could see increased interest as people seek to limit personal contact.

"Voice has already made significant inroads into the smart home space and voice control can mean avoiding commonly touched surfaces around the home from smartphones, to TV remotes, light switches, thermostats, door handles and more," said analyst Jonathan Collins of ABI Research.

The pandemic is likely to provide "additional motivation and incentive for voice control in the home that will help drive awareness and adoption for a range of additional smart home devices and applications," Collins said.

ABI estimates that voice control device shipments for smart home devices hit 141 million last year, and in 2020 will grow globally by close to 30 percent.

For the broader market of voice assistants, Juniper Research estimates 4.2 billion devices in use this year, growing to 8.4 billion by 2024, with much of the interactions on smartphones.

More people are using voice-activated technologies like Google Assistant during
the virus lockdowns (AFP Photo/Ethan Miller)

Smart locks, doorbells

Collins said he expected to see growing interest in smart locks and doorbells, along with other smart home systems, to eliminate the need for personal contact and face-to-face interaction as a result of the pandemic.

Avi Greengart, a technology analyst and consultant with Techsponential, said data is not yet available but that "anecdotally, voice assistant usage is way up" as a result of lockdowns.

Greengart said he expects a wider range of business applications for voice technologies in response to health and safety concerns.

"Looking forward, office spaces will need move towards more touch-free controls; voice can be a solution, although motion triggers for lighting is often easier and more friction-free," he said.

"However, I do expect smart speakers -- along with an emailed list of commands -- to be a common feature at hotels and other rental properties. The fewer touch points, the better."

Post-pandemic outlook

Julian Issa of Futuresource Consulting said there appears to be "an uptick in the use of voice assistants since the virus outbreak" during the pandemic.

Robots are already being deployed in medical situations

in the pandemic, but researchers say improved voice

technologies could enable them to play an even 

greater role (AFP Photo/

Manjunath Kiran)

"Whilst avoiding touching surfaces may play a small part in this, it is mainly due to consumers spending far more time at home with their devices," Issa said.

Chris Pennell, another Futuresource analyst, said he expects adoption of digital assistants is likely to accelerate, "especially in client facing areas such as healthcare, retail and entertainment."

One example of this already in use is a Mayo Clinic tool using Amazon Alexa which allows people to assess their symptoms and access information on the virus.

Other medical applications are also in the works for voice technologies.

Veton Kepuska, a Florida Tech computer engineering professor who specializes in speech recognition technologies, is seeking to develop voice-activated medical robots that can help limit physical contact and contagion.

"If we had this infrastructure in place, we would have been better off today," said Kepuska, who was spurred by the COVID-19 outbreak to seek funding for the research effort.

Kepuska said this effort could lead to a "humanoid" medical robot which can take over many tasks from doctors or nurses with voice interaction.

"The pandemic has created a situation where we need to think about how to deliver services to people who need our help without putting ourselves in danger," he said.

France refuses coronavirus funds to Amazon in labour dispute

Rfi.fr – Yahoo, 4 May 2020

Following last month's court ruling, Amazon shut down its sites in France AFP/File

Paris (AFP) -France's labour ministry said Monday that it denied a request by Amazon for emergency funds to pay employees during the coronavirus crisis, after the US giant shut its warehouses over a court order to sell only essential items.

The ministry said Amazon France asked last Thursday to benefit from coronavirus crisis funds that cover about 84 percent of net pay for workers facing temporary layoffs because of a drop in business.

Amazon France confirmed it sought the funds to cover salaries for some 10,000 employees at its six main distribution sites in the country.

The online retailer has been locked in a battle with labour unions which say not enough was done to mitigate contagion risk for staff working in close proximity to process a flood of orders amid the nationwide lockdown, which saw traditional shops shuttered.

Last month, an appeals court upheld a ruling that sharply curtailed Amazon's operations and ordered management to review safety measures. The court said only digital products, office equipment, groceries, medical and personal care products could be delivered in the meantime.

But Amazon said it was impossible to comply with the order, and completely shut down the six sites from mid-April until May 5, though it maintained full pay for employees.

"The recent decision by the Court of Versailles has obviously had an impact on our French operations... As a result, we filed for the help that other companies in France have benefited from," the company said in a statement.

"Our logistics operations are technically complex and the court's fine of 100,000 euros ($109,000) for any infraction means that even accidental shipping of non-authorised products, on the order of 0.1 percent of the total, could lead to over one billion euros of fines per week," it said.

Unions called Amazon's request for employment aid "absolutely scandalous," and accused the firm of getting around the court order by fulfilling French orders from its other warehouses in Europe.

Dozens of employees had staged walkouts at several sites before the ruling to demand better workplace protection during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Amazon reported last week that despite a surge in orders worldwide because of virus lockdowns, its profit dropped 29 percent in the first quarter of this year, to $2.5 billion, because of COVID-19 expenses, including measures for "keeping employees safe".

The company is in the process of recruiting some 175,000 more employees to cope with surging demand.

Amazon launches dedicated Dutch service with ‘thousands’ of retailers

DutchNews, March 10, 2020 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

E-commerce giant Amazon has started its sixth European platform in the Netherlands on Tuesday with ‘thousands’ of Dutch retailers opting for the sales channel. 

‘With Amazon.nl we are providing the service our Dutch customers had been asking for: the possibility to buy goods in a Dutch-language Amazon store with access to local and international products,’ Amazon EU expansion president Alex Ootes said in a statement.

Amazon has been selling e-books in the Netherlands since 2014 and Dutch shoppers have been offered 24-hour delivery by Amazon.de on some three million items since 2016. According to online retail magazine Twinkle, Amazon is already in sixth place in the Dutch market, with sales of €350m in 2018. 

Amazon.nl said it has ‘thousands’ of Dutch retailers on its books but gave no precise figure. Its main Dutch competitor, Bol.com, has some 27,000, broadcaster NOS reports, and has recently included clothing in its product range and reduced fees for Dutch providers to weather the competitive storm. 

Amazon is the world’s largest web shop and has a turnover of almost €250bn worldwide. 

Experts are divided about the likely impact of Amazon on the Dutch retail sector. 

Some say Dutch consumers will only switch to Amazon if prices are 10% lower than those offered by the likes of Bol.com, which is part of the Ahold empire. Others warn that the effect on the high street will be considerable. 

Wijnand Jongen, director of lobby group Thuiswinkel.org, said he expected the arrival of Amazon to speed up the switch to online shopping. ‘But Dutch retailers who are already active online are well positioned to take on Amazon,’ he said. ‘They have already won the trust of the Dutch consumer.’

Amazon vows to act on price-gouging on coronavirus goods

Yahoo – AFP, March 5, 2020

About half of Amazon sales come from third-party vendors as part of the
company's online "marketplace."

Amazon pledged Thursday to take steps to fight price gouging after a US senator complained of "unjustifiably high prices" on hand sanitizers and surgical masks to protect against coronavirus infections.

The US retail giant responded to a letter from Senator Ed Markey, who wrote that Amazon appeared to be profiting from panic buying related to the epidemic.

"We agree with Senator Markey -- there is no place for price gouging on Amazon and that's why our teams are monitoring our store 24/7 and have already removed tens of thousands of offers for attempted price gouging," an Amazon spokesperson said in an email.

"We are disappointed that bad actors are attempting to take advantage of this global health crisis and, in addition to removing these offers, we are terminating accounts."

About half of Amazon sales come from third-party vendors as part of the company's online "marketplace."

Markey questioned Amazon's vigilance after a series of media reports highlighted markups on some items of as much as 2,000 percent, with one report indicating the company's enforcement of its fair-pricing policy as "haphazard."

"No one should be allowed to reap a windfall from fear and human suffering," Markey said Wednesday. "I'm calling on Amazon to stop and prevent coronavirus-inspired price gouging."

Hundreds of Amazon employees criticize firm's climate stance

Yahoo – AFP, January 27, 2020

Amazon is frequently criticized over its carbon footprint due to its road transport
network and server farms for its cloud computing activities (AFP Photo/INA FASSBENDER)

San Francisco (AFP) - Hundreds of Amazon employees Sunday openly criticized the online retail giant's environmental record, defying the company's communications policy.

More than 300 signed a Medium blog post by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ), which is pushing the company to go further in its climate change mitigation plan announced in September.

Group members have publicly criticized the company, and some have been warned that they could be fired.

"The protest is the largest action by employees since Amazon began threatening to fire workers for speaking out about Amazon's role in the climate crisis," the AECJ said.

"As Amazon workers, we are responsible for not only the success of the company, but its impact as well," said Sarah Tracy, a software development engineer at Amazon.

"It's our moral responsibility to speak up, and the changes to the communications policy are censoring us from exercising that responsibility."

It is common for companies to demand restraint from employees when it comes to publicly discussing the firm's activities and even more so when openly questioning them.

While the environment and climate change was the focus of many of the posts on Sunday, Amazon was also criticized for other activities such as providing artificial intelligence capabilities to companies in the oil sector.

Amazon, which in December said its workforce had hit 750,000, is often criticized over its carbon footprint because of the high energy consumption of its huge server farms for its lucrative cloud computing activities.

And it has built its success on the back of a huge road transport logistics network to ensure speedy deliveries, which generates a lot of greenhouse gases, the main culprit in climate change.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on September 19 last year made public environmental commitments, promising in particular that the firm would be carbon neutral by 2040.

The AECJ said this was insufficient and that Amazon should be aiming for a 2030 target.

"This is not the time for silencing voices. We need policies that welcome more open discourse, more problem-solving, and more urgent and concerted action about climate change and its causes," said Mark Hiew, a senior marketing manager at Amazon.

Responding to the letter, an Amazon spokesperson defended its policy on public statements about the company.

"While all employees are welcome to engage constructively with any of the many teams inside Amazon that work on sustainability and other topics, we do enforce our external communications policy and will not allow employees to publicly disparage or misrepresent the company or the hard work of their colleagues who are developing solutions to these hard problems," the company said.

Amazon unveils new tools to weed out counterfeit goods

France24 – AFP, 28 Feb 2019

Amazon is stepping up efforts to curb the sale counterfeit merchandise by using
technology tools and by allowing brands to take down listings themselves AFP/File

Washington (AFP) - Amazon on Thursday announced a new initiative to crack down on the sale of counterfeit goods on its platform which could allow brands themselves to take down listings of fake merchandise.

The program dubbed Project Zero uses a combination of technological tools and cooperation with brand manufacturers to remove listings of sellers of counterfeit goods.

Amazon said it is testing the new feature on an "invite only" basis with brands ahead of what it expects to be a broader rollout.

"Our aim is that customers always receive authentic goods when shopping on Amazon," the US online giant said in a statement.

"Project Zero builds on our long-standing work and investments in this area. It allows brands to work with us to leverage our combined strengths to move quickly and at scale to drive counterfeits to zero."

Amazon said the new effort includes stepping up use of its own machine learning technology to scan for suspected imitation goods.

Additionally, brands that participate in the program will use "product serialization" codes to authenticate products in the manufacturing process, and those firms will be able to take action themselves to remove counterfeit goods listings.

"Previously, brands would need to report a counterfeit to Amazon, and we would then investigate these reports and take action," the Amazon statement said.

"With Project Zero, brands no longer need to contact us to remove a counterfeit listing. Instead, they can do so, quickly and easily, using our new self-service tool."

Amazon said its tests have stopped 100 times more suspected counterfeit products than under its previous system of removal based on reports from brands.

Companies participating in the program include the luggage and handbag maker Vera Bradley, automotive accessory manufacturer Kenu and pet accessory brands Thunderworks and ChomChom Roller.

"Project Zero, with its automated protections and the self-service removal of counterfeit products, is a significant development that will help ensure our customers receive authentic Vera Bradley products from Amazon," said Mark Dely, chief legal and administrator officer of the company, in the Amazon release.

Amazon sets conference on robotics, artificial intelligence

Yahoo – AFP, January 17, 2019

Amazon will host a June conference on robotics and artificial intelligence, showcasing
some of the technology used for its Alexa digital assistant (AFP Photo/Rob Lever)

New York (AFP) - Amazon announced plans Thursday to hold a conference open to the public on robotics, space and artificial intelligence, as well as to discuss future applications of emerging technologies.

The re:MARS conference in Las Vegas will include "visionary talks, interactive workshops, technical deep dives, roundtables, hands-on demos, and more," an Amazon statement said.

The conference called Machine learning, Automation, Robotics and Space on June 4-7 grew out of a private, invite-only event hosted by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in recent years.

"We're at the beginning of a golden age of AI," Bezos said in the statement.

"Recent advancements have already led to invention that previously lived in the realm of science fiction -- and we've only scratched the surface of what's possible."

He said the event would bring together "leaders and builders from diverse areas to share learnings and spark new ideas for future innovation."

Amazon said the conference would showcase how it is using advanced technologies for its range of services from online shopping to music and video.

"Machine learning and artificial intelligence are behind almost everything we do at Amazon," according to the company statement.

"Some of this work is highly visible, such as autonomous Prime Air delivery drones, eliminating checkout lines at Amazon Go and making everyday life more convenient for customers with Alexa.

"But much of what we do with AI and ML happens beneath the surface -- from the speed in which we deliver packages, to the broad selection and low prices we're able to offer customers, to automatic extraction of characters and places from books and videos."

Attendees will meet Amazon technology engineers and see the Blue Origin rocket capsule developed by the private space firm owned by Bezos.

Speakers will include researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Harvard Berkman Center.

Microsoft, Amazon, Google join fight to prevent famine

Yahoo – AFP, 23 September 2018

Rather than waiting to respond to a famine after many have already died, the tech
firms, including Amazon, "will use the predictive power of data to trigger funding"
to take action before it becomes a crisis, the World Bank and UN announced

Tech giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google are joining forces with international organizations to help identify and head off famines in developing nations using data analysis and artificial intelligence, a new initiative unveiled Sunday.

Rather than waiting to respond to a famine after many lives already have been lost, the tech firms "will use the predictive power of data to trigger funding" to take action before it becomes a crisis, the World Bank and United Nations announced in a joint statement.

"The fact that millions of people -- many of them children -- still suffer from severe malnutrition and famine in the 21st century is a global tragedy," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement. "We are forming an unprecedented global coalition to say, 'no more.'"

Last year more than 20 million people faced famine conditions in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, while 124 million people currently live in crisis levels of food insecurity, requiring urgent humanitarian assistance for their survival, the agencies said. Over half of them live in areas affected by conflict.

The Famine Action Mechanism (FAM) will provide early warning signs to identify food crises that could become famines, and trigger pre-arranged funding plans to allow early intervention.

"If we can better predict when and where future famines will occur, we can save lives by responding earlier and more effectively," Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement.

Google, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services and other technology firms are providing expertise to develop a suite of analytical models called "Artemis" that uses AI and machine learning to estimate and forecast worsening food security crises in real-time. These forecasts will help guide and promote decision makers to respond earlier.

"Artificial intelligence and machine learning hold huge promise for forecasting and detecting early signs of food shortages, like crop failures, droughts, natural disasters, and conflicts," Smith said.

The FAM will initially be rolled out in a small group of vulnerable countries building up to ultimately provide global coverage. On October 13, leaders dedicated to this initiative will gather as part of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bali, Indonesia to discuss further implementation.

Summer bargains? Amazon Prime plans opening salvo at Dutch market

DutchNews, July 6, 2018

Photo: Depositphotos.com

US-based Amazon, the largest internet retailer, will fire a serious opening salvo at the Dutch market on 16 July with its first Amazon Prime Day, which is described as the biggest flash-sale in the world.

Customers in the Netherlands will be able to take advantage of the ‘bargains’ to be had on Amazon’s website for 36 hours. These include thousands of items in all categories, nu.nl said in an advertorial, widely picked up by other media, on Friday. 

This is the first year that Amazon Prime subscribers in the Netherlands will have access to Prime Day. Last year customers in 13 counties could participate. 

Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service that gives users access to free one-day delivery, streaming video and music, and other benefits. As of April 2018, it had more than 100 million members. 

Amazon is offering Prime subscriptions in the Netherlands for €3.99 for the first month rising to €5.99 in September. 

Amazon’s main Dutch competitors are Bol.com and Coolblue.

Amazon blocks Australia from global sites over tax

Yahoo – AFP, 31 May 2018

Amazon said Australian shoppers wanting to use its global platforms will
instead be directed to its smaller Australian site

US internet giant Amazon will block Australian shoppers from its international websites to counter new tax laws on online purchases, it announced Thursday.

New rules require internet retailers like the American behemoth to collect a 10 percent goods and services tax on everything bought from overseas sites from July 1, including under the current tax-free threshold of Aus$1,000 (US$760).

As a result, Amazon said Australian shoppers wanting to use its global platforms will instead be directed to its smaller Australian site, which offers much less for sale.

Amazon reportedly baulked at the massive administrative burden of tracking GST from all overseas transactions.

"While we regret any inconvenience this may cause customers, we have had to assess the workability of the legislation as a global business with multiple international sites," it said in a statement.

The retailer said it would compensate by opening a "global store" for Australians, adding an extra four million items previously available only on its American website.

"This will allow us to provide our customers with continued access to (our) international selection and remain compliant with the law," it said.

But even with the changes, the number of products available will be a fraction of what's on sale globally.

The new tax rules were brought in after years of lobbying by struggling local retailers, which have to apply GST to all online and store sales,

Low consumer confidence and tepid wage growth have also hit traditional brick and mortar retail operations.

Amazon only launched a local Australian site last December, shipping from a warehouse in Melbourne with another planned in Sydney.

It had around Aus$1 billion in sales from Australia annually through shipping from overseas ahead of the launch, according to Morgan Stanley analysts.

Treasurer Scott Morrison said the new laws "level the playing field for Australian businesses".

"The government doesn't apologise for ensuring multinationals pay a fair amount of tax here in Australia," he said.

Related Article:

EU aims to tax internet giants at 'two to six percent': France

EU aims to tax internet giants at 'two to six percent': France

Yahoo – AFP, March 4, 2018

The tax-avoidance strategies used by Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple have
cost governments around the world as much as $240 billion a year in lost revenue,
according to the OECD (AFP Photo/Damien MEYER)

Paris (AFP) - The EU will soon unveil a plan for taxing major internet companies like Amazon and Facebook by imposing a levy of two to six percent on revenues in every country where they operate, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said Sunday.

"The range will be from two to six percent; but closer to two than to six," Le Maire told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

The European Commission has said it will present by end March an overhaul of its tax rules, which currently allow US digital economy giants to report their income from across the bloc in any member state.

That leads them to pick low-tax nations like Ireland, the Netherlands or Luxembourg, depriving other nations of their share of the revenue even though they may account for more of a company's earnings.

"The heads of these companies know themselves that this system can't continue," Le Maire said.

Critics say the tax-avoidance strategies used by the tech titans known as GAFA -- Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple -- deprive EU governments of billions of euros while giving them an unfair advantage over smaller rivals.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says such strategies cost governments around the world as much as $240 billion (195 billion euros) a year in lost revenue, according to a 2015 estimate.

Asked if the proposed rate might be criticised as too low, Le Maire said: "I would rather have a law that can be implemented quickly instead of drawn-out negotiations."

American tech giants appear to believe the European tax revamp is in the cards, with several already announcing pledges to pay more in each country where they operate as governments step up their fiscal demands.

Amazon said last month that it had settled a major tax claim in France and that it would start declaring all its earnings in the country.

Amazon makes French tax deal as tide turns against web giants

Yahoo – AFP, Joseph Schmid, 5 February 2018

US online shopping giant Amazon said it has struck a deal with the French
 government to settle a bill for nearly 200 million euros ($249 million) in unpaid taxes

US online retailer Amazon said Monday that it has settled a major tax claim in France and will start declaring all its earnings in the country in a response to building European pressure on the digital economy giants.

Amazon did not reveal how much it had paid over a French claim for nearly 200 million euros ($249 million) covering the period from 2006 to 2010.

It is one of several American technology giants in the line of fire in Europe over their tax-avoidance strategies, which often sees them route their income through low-tax nations -- in Amazon's case, Luxembourg.

French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed a new mechanism for taxing US tech companies that would take into account the volume of sales generated in each European country, rather than on the profits that are booked through low-tax jurisdictions.

Amazon announced a similar tax settlement deal with Italy in December, paying 100 million euros to settle an investigation into suspected tax evasion from 2011 to 2015, while also agreeing to declare its income locally.

In 2012, Amazon revealed that it had been hit with a 198-million-euro tax bill in France for back taxes, interest and penalties relating to income spread between different jurisdictions.

At the time, the company had said it disagreed with the French assessment and vowed to "vigorously" fight it.

In its statement Monday, Amazon said it had created a French subsidiary for its European operations in August 2015, "with all retail revenues, expenses, profits and taxes due now accounted for in France."

The retailer also said it had invested over 2 billion euros in France since 2010, creating more than 5,500 jobs.

'Electroshock' plan

European officials have vowed to make the digital economy giants known as GAFA -- Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple -- pay a greater share of their taxes in the countries where they earn their profits.

Under current EU law, companies based outside the bloc can declare their earnings from across the 28-nation market in a single country.

That has led them to pick low-tax nations like Ireland, the Netherlands or Luxembourg -- depriving other member states of revenues, even though they may account for a bigger share of the earnings.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says such rules cost governments around the world as much as $240 billion (193 billion euros) a year in lost revenue, according to a 2015 estimate.

On Sunday, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said he would unveil by the end of March a plan to "create a consensus and an electroshock" on taxing digital economy revenues.

"The idea is to be able to identify the activities of digital companies, so we need a range of indicators -- the number of clicks, the number of IP addresses, advertising, and eventually revenues... and then we'll find ways to tax them," Moscovici said.

He said the new rules would apply to the GAFA giants, as well as accommodation services like AirBnB and Booking.com.

Changes underway

American tech giants appear to believe the European tax revamp is in the cards, with several already announcing pledges to pay more in each country where they operate as governments step up their fiscal demands.

Facebook said in December that it would start declaring advertising revenue in the countries where they have offices, instead of recording it at its international headquarters in Dublin.

"We believe that moving to a local selling structure will provide more transparency to governments and policy makers around the world," the social network's financial chief Dave Wehner said at the time.

France is pursuing Google for 1.12 billion euros it says it owes in back taxes, after paying just 6.7 million euros in corporate tax for 2015 by booking most of its revenues through Ireland.

A court initially ruled that Google was not liable for the tax claim, but the government has appealed the decision -- while saying it was still open to a settlement.

The search giant has already agreed to fiscal deals with Britain and Italy over the Irish tax arrangement.

Amazon's settlement comes as it is also facing a court case in France over claims it has abused its dominant position on its "marketplace" platform for third-party vendors.

The finance ministry said in December that it was seeking a fine of about 10 million euros.

Related Article:

In tax shift, Facebook to declare ad revenues locally