Paris plucks the goose: digital taxation

https://espresso.economist.com/ad9f2f92fd04851d42d216a6954683c3

Jan 2nd 2019

Paris plucks the goose: digital taxation

• pluck 拔掉，退去（死禽的毛）

France’s new sales tax on big technology firms, including Google and Facebook, kicked in on January 1st, with the aim of bringing in €500m ($575m) a year.

• kick in 缴付

The French government has led calls to squeeze more tax revenue from digital giants, but a national levy wasn’t its first choice; it had pushed for a European Union-wide tax, but this was stymied by opposition from Ireland, Sweden and others.

• squeeze 压榨；榨取；紧缩
• levy 征收额；（尤指）税款
• stymied 〈美〉被袭击的

While Eurocrats have another go at forging consensus—with a new deadline of March—a dozen member states have either announced plans to follow France’s lead or say they may do so.

• Eurocrats 欧盟机构；欧洲官僚
• forge 锻造；(坚定地)勉力前进；锻炼；编造(故事等)

These national levies, and the EU one, are supposed to be interim measures that will be withdrawn once a multilateral digital-tax framework is agreed under the auspices of the OECD.

• interim 暂时的；过渡的；期中的
• auspice 赞助；主办；保护

But a global deal looks far off, not least because America, home to the biggest technology firms, sees such taxes as discriminatory.

• discriminatory 区别对待的；不公正的；歧视的

Expect a transatlantic tech-tax tussle.

• transatlantic 横渡大西洋的；横越大西洋的；大西洋两岸国家的
• tussle 扭打，角逐；争斗；扭斗