Germany’s climate menu mixes small beer and fudge 20 Sep 2019 Angela Merkel’s coalition will begin pricing carbon at 26 euros a tonne to reduce emissions. That gives big polluters little incentive to clean up. It also limits Berlin’s need to disguise that its new 50 bln euro fund to smooth the transition will stay off-balance sheet.
The Exchange: Enrico Letta 10 Sep 2019 Italy’s new coalition government, cobbled together from the centre-left and quixotic 5-Star Movement, has been greeted gleefully by markets and EU allies. But one former prime minister warns about complacency, calling for a reset with Brussels, tax cuts and renewed investment.
Phantom FDI screams need for new tax ghostbusters 9 Sep 2019 About 40% of foreign direct investment - $15 trln - is designed to minimise corporate tax, says the IMF. Major economies’ efforts to win income back from havens like Luxembourg have failed. The OECD’s Big Tech tax reform ideas, and states’ self-interest, offer the best way out.
U.S. manufacturing slump is a self-inflicted wound 3 Sep 2019 American factory activity fell for the first time in three years in August, as President Trump’s trade war with China hit home. Fresh tariffs could compound the woes. At least manufacturing’s role in the economy has shrunk. But that underscores the futility of White House policy.
Trump’s chaos theory of negotiation is a dead end 26 Aug 2019 The U.S. president says trade talks are back on with Beijing three days after escalating tariffs and calling Chinese leader Xi Jinping an “enemy.” Yet his erratic aims and tenor make it hard for counterparties to engage, as the G7 demonstrated. It’s no way to strike a good deal.
Breakdown: The global fight over Big Tech’s taxes 22 Aug 2019 OECD countries are trying to agree a new set of rules for the likes of Google. States in Europe and elsewhere want more income from digital behemoths but could well face U.S. intransigence. That makes a messy patchwork of local levies and American countermeasures likely.
U.S.-China trade war hinges on farmers, not Apple 13 Aug 2019 The Trump administration is delaying import tariffs on some electronics, giving the iPhone maker and the S&P 500 a boost. That’s down to business lobbying and a little pragmatism. But the president wants to boost American agriculture. Until China helps, investors can’t rest easy.
Undoing Trump’s tax cuts harder than it looks 30 Jul 2019 Democratic presidential contenders want to scrap the White House’s signature legislative win. The measure helped companies and the wealthy but also provided some breaks for the middle class, making it tricky to roll back. And a corporate tax hike could trigger a market downturn.
Irn-Bru maker learns limits of customer virtue 16 Jul 2019 Soft-drinks maker A.G. Barr’s shares fell by 26% after it forecast weaker-than-expected sales. One factor was the UK tax on sugar, another was punters’ reluctance to pay up for healthier recipes. Hoping to keep selling both safer and more-profitable products is backfiring.
U.S. corporate earnings lose their tax-cut mojo 15 Jul 2019 Forecasts now show S&P 500 profit declining in the second quarter, a sharp turnaround from a year ago, as revenue gains slow. Prognosticators see earnings growth back in double digits in 2020, but they could be wrong again – a possibility record stock prices may not reflect.
Trump lands pre-emptive blow in digital tax fight 11 Jul 2019 The U.S. president threatened tariffs on France for its plans to introduce a digital levy on groups like Facebook. The move gives him more leverage in discussions on how to reform international corporate tax. It also means there’s a lot more riding on the success of those talks.
A plutocrat president is up for re-election 21 Jun 2019 Donald Trump launched his 2020 campaign with a populist appeal to America’s forgotten men and women. His signature first-term legislation slashed taxes for companies, which now hand over the least in decades despite abundant profit. Such actions speak louder than Trump’s words.
UK tax havens’ new look has old problem 20 Jun 2019 Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man will consider publishing the real owners of companies registered there by 2023 – in line with the European Union. Great. Yet illicit money will linger in the tax havens if any new system is policed as poorly as in Britain.
Tech firms can be citizens as well as piggy banks 23 May 2019 San Francisco is mulling a so-called IPO tax to help fund affordable housing. Money isn’t really the issue, though: useful projects get snared in local opposition. Facebook and its ilk would do more good getting staff to be engaged citizens, and even incentivizing them to do so.
Swiss tax reform will earn it EU brownie points 20 May 2019 Voters in the Alpine nation have backed a plan to axe fiscal favours for some 24,000 multinationals. Some companies may now find it less appealing to set up shop in Switzerland. But the move averts the bigger threat of it ending up on a European Union list of tax havens.
Walmart is a test of broader tariff harm 16 May 2019 The retailer reported U.S. sales rose 3.4%, yet momentum could wane once higher border levies on another $200 bln of imports from China kick in. Walmart may not be the most exposed business, but Americans shopping at its more than 5,300 stores will feel it in their pockets.
Hadas: An ultra-tax on the ultra-rich makes sense 30 Jan 2019 Some U.S. politicians want to extract much more money from the topmost sliver of the population. This would amount to collecting an underpaid social debt and restoring a tarnished social contract, without much economic risk. And higher taxes now might prevent a revolution later.
Italy puts luxury tag on discount Kering tax claim 28 Jan 2019 Authorities are seeking 1.4 bln euros of back taxes from the French-based owner of Gucci. That’s 60 percent of the company’s total bill between 2011 and 2017. Italy may have a case for questioning activity from Kering’s Swiss logistics unit. Yet the claim looks too big.
The “gilets jaunes” invade Davos if only in spirit 24 Jan 2019 While yellow-vested protesters aren’t clogging the Davos Promenade, the French movement’s presence was felt on the World Economic Forum’s stages and backrooms. And at least one European government, Italy’s, made the case for policies that might as well be called gilet-ist.
Banks tell a U.S. tax tale with three endings 15 Jan 2019 Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and Citi all started 2018 with the gift of lower taxes. Fourth-quarter earnings show the similarities end there. Treasury largesse propped up Citi and Wells, accounting for most of their underlying growth. JPMorgan gave back most, and needed the help least.