(Neil Hall/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The head of Britain’s treasury has proposed a new tax targeting tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon.com, in what he described as a necessary evolution of the corporate tax system in the digital age. But he said they also challenge the sustainability and fairness of the tax system and provide a clear example of the tax code not keeping up with dynamic business models. The announced tax initiative comes as finance officials in the European Union have proposed sweeping new tax legislation targeting technology companies. European officials critical of the current tax system say that governments are struggling to tax several forms of online activity, despite the enormous wealth generated by tech firms. Hammond noted that the digital services tax will be crafted to not fall on consumers, the way an online sales tax would.

Source: Washington Post October 29, 2018 18:04 UTC