英國將對跨國企業徵收"谷歌税"

George Osborne has announced plans to raise More than £1bn over the next five years from a new “diverted profits” tax on multinationals but details were scanty and advisers said it was not clear how the levy would work.

英國財政大臣喬治•奧斯本(George Osborne)宣佈，未來5年計劃針對跨國公司徵收逾10億英鎊的“轉移利潤税”，但他沒有透露具體細節，諮詢師們表示，目前還不清楚這一税收將如何實施。

The measure was unveiled by the chancellor yesterday as part of his Autumn Statement to “make sure that big multinational businesses pay their fair share”.

作為秋季預算報告(Autumn Statement)的一部分，奧斯本昨日宣佈了這一舉措，其目的是“確保大型跨國企業承擔合理税賦比例”。

The move, widely dubbed the “Google tax”, was described by Mr Osborne as a crackdown on “some of the largest companies in the world, including those in the tech sector, [that] use elaborate structures to avoid paying taxes”.

這項税收被普遍稱作“谷歌税”(Google tax)，奧斯本認為開徵該税將打擊“全球一些利用複雜結構避税的大型企業（包括科技企業）”。

Advisers questioned whether the measure, intended to raise £1.4bn in total by 2019-20, would be compatible with the UK’s double tax treaties.

顧問們對此舉是否與英國的雙重税收協定一致提出質疑，該舉措打算到2019/2020年度，總共籌集14億英鎊税收。

One executive at a leading technology company said the industry was unlikely to fight the measure but described the move as “unilateral action” that went beyond a continuing OECD examination of international tax reform.

一家領先科技公司的高管表示，科技行業不太可能對抗這一舉措，但他認為此舉屬“單邊行動”，不會符合經合組織(OECD)仍在繼續的對國際税收改革的考察。

“We’ll see what our tax experts make of it . . . but it’s for politicians to make laws, and we will follow them,” he said.

他表示：“我們要看看我們的税收專家怎麼看……但制定法律的是政治人士，我們會遵從他們的決定。”

Chris Morgan of KPMG, the professional services group, speculated that the new tax would be a “deemed profits” tax rather than a corporation tax, so as to sidestep issues raised by double tax treaties.

專業服務機構畢馬威(KPMG)的克里斯•摩根(Chris Morgan)推測，新税收將屬於“核定利潤税”，而非企業税，因此將可以迴避雙重税收協定引發的問題。

He suggested the Treasury would identify profits that escaped tax in the UK because of royalty arrangements or the absence of a taxable presence.

他認為，財政部將核定那些因使用費安排或者缺乏應納税存在，而得以在英國避税的利潤。

He said: “It seems to be something completely novel . . . It is a huge stick that will stop this artificial avoidance. The difficulty will be how it is defined in practice.”

他表示：“這似乎是一種全新的税收……它具有巨大的震懾作用，將阻止人為避税。問題是實際操作中如何界定。”

He described it as a “nuclear option” aimed at encouraging companies to adapt their structures to pay more tax in Britain. He said: “Companies that have been pushing the envelope will be very worried.”

他將此舉稱為一個“核選項”，旨在促使企業調整結構以在英國繳納更多税賦。他表示：“那些打擦邊球的企業會感到非常擔憂。”