Digital Taxation: a seminar to try to counter tax optimization

Pierre Moscovici and Fleur Pellerin organized a seminar on digital taxation.Europe does happen to find a European consensus? If yes, when and how?These questions remain unanswered.

This Wednesday, October 9, the Ministry of Finance organized a seminar to make a point on emerging issues of taxation in the digital age. Upon introduction, Fleur Pellerin, Minister for the Digital Economy, noted that it took to run.

For the minister, it is not to create rules specific to digital. Sector "must adapt existing tools and not create a system of exception," she reported to remember that will prioblème beyond the numeric. But if the name of Starbuck was quoted, the seminar was devoted entirely to digital. And advanced seminars for the names were those of Google, Amazon, Apple and eBay whose tax optimization system has been husked by BFM Business.

To talk, all specialists were present case including the authors of reports on the subject. Pierre Collin and Nicolas Colin (Colin and Collin authors report), Senator Philippe Marini who wrote the first report on the issue, Thieulin Benoit, president of the National Council of digital whose report was published in September. And experts in law, taxation, European rules.

As for companies, they were represented by Pierre Louette (CEO of Orange) and Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, vice president of MEDEF in charge of taxation. On this point, the AFDEL , French association of software publishers, regretted not being invited to this meeting.

Optimization within the law, "not his mind"

Stakeholders agreed to admit that the methods of U.S. companies are legal, but not legitimate."These companies comply with the laws, but not the spirit of the law," noted MP Pierre-Alain Mute, co-rapporteur of the Information on tax optimization multinational mission.

Indeed, all the experts agree that the web giants have not broken any rules. They ride these systems since the creation of their business which makes it almost impossible to dismantle the strategy. For bright side, Pierre Louette believes that web giants have "pointed to the weaknesses of Europe remains the most important taxation. "

In fact, the only way to counteract these strategies is to find a common European or even global. This is the direction that proposed by the National Council of digital technology in the report published in early September .

Still no solution has been advanced. Recognizing the efficiency and competence of the optimization of corporate America services Gardette Alexander, head of the tax audit to the General Directorate of Finance, notes that "these systems are strong and reorganized according to our advanced . "The officer agreed with the CNNum, a" national solution is insufficient, "because" it is at least a European problem, and more a global problem. "

European harmonization is it a dream?

For Senator Philippe Marini, who in 2010 called for the adoption of the famous Google tax, the issue is complex because "polymorphic". "We do not know where to take it. It is at once economic, fiscal and industrial. "And also, since every political state of Europe sees its own interest.

The harmonization of European taxation must be adopted unanimously and, Philippe Marini,"This is a dream." "Neither Luxembourg or Cyprus or Ireland will accept. These states will still lock. "The issue will be raised from 24 to 25 October at the European Council of digital.Participants will they find a solution? Many doubt it, especially entrepreneurs.

For Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux the problem depends primarily on the ways in which companies compete on equal terms with their American competitors. Vice President of MEDEF would, he said, preferred that France is champion digital rather than "champion of research tax on digital." 

In conclusion, the European Commissioner for Taxation, Algirdas Šemeta announced the creation of a "think tank" in charge of the case. "I know that in France, you have done much research on the subject" corporate taxation of digital, but "our side, we do not want to rush us to conclusions at this stage," said he said without giving details on the timing or implementation of the study group .