Macron’s travails could turn into fiscal mess 5 Jul 2022 The French president’s electoral platform was bound to stress the state budget. Now a deadlocked parliament may only agree on increased spending and more tax cuts. With borrowing above 110% of GDP, and no credible plan to control public finances, Paris’s debt looks vulnerable.
UK windfall tax has reasonable hierarchy of pain 26 May 2022 Finance minister Rishi Sunak is funding a $19 bln fiscal support plan with a $6 bln raid on North Sea oil. The levy is gentle on companies who invest, and harsh on those with big tax assets from past losses. But high energy prices mean a further thwack to utilities may follow.
UK’s power tax plan may avoid tilting at windmills 24 May 2022 Shares in utilities like SSE and Drax dived after reports of Rishi Sunak eyeing up 10 bln pounds of excess profits. Windfalls from high power prices are hard to grab and North Sea oil is a better target. But the UK chancellor’s haul from power groups will still be far from zero.
Capital Calls: Airbnb 3 May 2022 Concise views on global finance: The $97 bln vacation-booking platform’s post-pandemic bounceback has beat expectations. It helps that CEO Brian Chesky quickly adapted the business, including cutting costs.
Spendthrift Macron will hit harsh fiscal reality 21 Apr 2022 The French president must attract left-leaning voters to win a second term, and then a parliamentary majority. But financing pledges, like big investments in green energy, will mean choosing between higher taxes and worsening public debt levels. He’s likely to opt for the latter.
Time for Europe to break energy sanctions taboo 4 Apr 2022 Alleged Russian atrocities against Ukrainian civilians are set to trigger a harsher EU response. Dependency on Russian oil and gas makes Germany and others reluctant to back a full energy embargo. Taxing hydrocarbon imports is a halfway-house option that still hurts Moscow.
Joe Biden nods at fiscal discipline 28 Mar 2022 The U.S. president is pitching a 2023 budget that would make America's deficit about $1 trln smaller than it would otherwise become over a decade. One proposal is a billionaires’ tax. Though that's a tough political sell, the package is a modest tilt toward a healthier ledger.
Britain’s limp economic fix leaves need to do more 23 Mar 2022 Finance minister Rishi Sunak cut taxes on fuel and incomes to ease a cost-of-living squeeze. Still, the measures are blunt and less generous than countries like France. With energy bills set to soar, he’ll soon need to dip into the 30 bln pounds of wiggle room he has left over.
Energy windfall taxes are messy, unfair, and vital 23 Mar 2022 Europe can theoretically raise hundreds of billions of euros from utilities benefitting from soaring energy prices. To get near that this year, some utilities could be shaken down inefficiently or unjustly. Public anger at rising energy bills means states still have to try.
Refugee bonds can keep humanitarian corridors open 11 Mar 2022 Europe says 7 mln Ukrainians may flee Russia’s invasion. The 2015 refugee crisis showed migrants can boost workforces and economies. But integrating new arrivals is expensive. Impact bonds can pay for the upfront resettlement burden, limiting quarrels between host nations.
Power windfall tax is bad idea whose time has come 17 Jan 2022 European leaders are under pressure to help households with soaring power bills. Taxing energy companies is potentially ineffective and replete with unwise incentives. The idea could nevertheless catch on, and oil giants like BP and Shell may need to take the strain.
China celebrity crackdown is tech’s horror show 21 Dec 2021 "Queen of livestreaming" Viya was fined $210 mln for tax evasion and had her social-media accounts shut. Investors wiped up to 12% off platform providers like Bilibili and Alibaba. The effect on the fast-growing $300 bln influencer market suggests that underestimates the risk.
Capital Calls: UBS, Pfizer, Peloton 13 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: An appeals court has reduced a penalty for the Swiss bank by 60% for tax wrongdoings; the U.S. pharma group is buying a drugmaker to bolster its post-pandemic growth options; real risks are a bigger threat to the bike-app company than fake ones.
China travel boom is stuck in the departure lounge 10 Dec 2021 Domestic tourism was already struggling of late. Now a surge in pandemic curbs like testing and quarantine is making regional travel difficult. Duty-free giant China Tourism’s decision to shelve its $6 bln Hong Kong listing shows the industry hunkering down for staycation pain.
Capital Calls: Fund services M&A, Mattress mystery 6 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: Shareholders of Amsterdam-listed Intertrust dodge a regulatory crackdown with a 1.8 bln euro sale; the western man credited with Chinese retailer DeRucci’s success finally has his identity revealed.
Foreigners will get the best buzz off German weed 24 Nov 2021 Berlin is preparing to light up its recreational cannabis market. With potential sales taxes and savings of 5 bln euros a year, the move could give the economy added puff. But German players may at first have to play second fiddle to Canadians that dominate the medicinal market.
Elon Musk can afford Biden’s EV snub 11 Nov 2021 Teslas won’t qualify for an extra $4,500 U.S. tax credit due to non-union labor. Instead, the cheaper Chevy Bolt wins in the president’s $1.8 trln spending plan. Still, Musk’s firm has surging sales in a growing Chinese market and large U.S market share. Biden is an afterthought.
China’s property tax will grow sharper teeth 27 Oct 2021 President Xi Jinping has thrown his weight behind an unpopular but economically beneficial real estate levy. Previous experiments in Shanghai and Chongqing disappointed, so the next round of trials could be harsher and riskier. It will test Xi’s power and policy creativity.
How to fill the global tax deal’s digital holes 8 Oct 2021 A landmark accord backed by 136 countries offers little scope for non-U.S. governments to raise money from giants like Facebook. One fix is to give nations with big markets a larger share of tax receipts. Sharing out levies according to where revenue is generated would be ideal.
Guest view: Biden tax crusade puts privacy at risk 29 Sep 2021 A proposal to monitor the bank balances and payments of individual citizens may not raise more tax, but it would constitute a glaring invasion of personal privacy, warn Christopher Giancarlo and Jim Harper. The coming shift to government-issued digital money raises the stakes.