数字税:我们如何陷入这一迷局,又应如何摆脱困境?

Digital Tax: How Did We Get into This Mess? And How Can We Get Out of It?

向数字服务提供商征收所得税的提案在OECD和许多国家来势迅猛。这些提案大体上都颠覆了一个世纪以来国际税收的实践,却没有明白无误地解释为什么要这样做。市场国长期以来都希望以来源地为依据,获得更多的税收,数字税的提案正中其下怀。但是,希望从非居民企业取得更多的税收收入,并不意味着各种拟议中的税收在设计上具有正当性、在管理上具有可操作性。本文将探讨OECD数字税提案在基本原理方面的缺陷,并建议考虑对数字化公司按收入总额征税。

Proposals to impose income taxation on the providers of digital services are advancing rapidly in the OECD and in many countries.But the proposals generally upend a century of international tax practice without a clear explanation of one important question:"Why"?The desire by market countries to impose more source basis taxation is long-standing and understandable;and digital services tax proposals fit into this exercise.However,a simple desire to raise more revenue from nonresidents does not mean that the proposed taxes are justifiable as designed or administrable.This article will explore the weaknesses in the rationale behind the digital services tax proposals and recommend considering gross-basis tax for digital companies.