An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Apple fights the world’s biggest tax case in a quiet courtroom this week, trying to rein in the European Union’s powerful antitrust chief ahead of a potential new crackdown on internet giants. The iPhone maker can tell the EU General Court in Luxembourg that it’s the world’s biggest taxpayer. But that’s not enough…
Tag: tax
Google To Pay $1 Billion in France To Settle Fiscal Fraud Probe
Google agreed to pay close to 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion) to French authorities to settle a fiscal fraud probe that began four years ago in a deal that may create a legal precedent for other large tech companies present in the country. From a report: French investigators have been seeking to establish whether Google, whose European headquarters are based in…
NYC Mayor and Presidential Hopeful Bill De Blasio Wants a Tax On Robots
In an opinion article published last week on Wired, New York City Mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bill de Blasio said as president he would issue a robot tax for corporations displacing humans and would create a federal agency to oversee automation. CNET reports: “The scale of automation in our economy is increasing far faster than most people realize, and…
Two College Students Nearly Grabbed Donald Trump’s Tax Returns Online
“This was a Wayne’s World scene gone awry…” says an attorney for 23-year-old Andrew Harris. “They were Wayne and Garth in a blue Pacer with a dumb idea and a mixed run of luck,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer: Harris previously had filed an application for federal student aid, and noticed that the government form would redirect to the IRS and…
Soft Drinks, Including Sugar-Free, Linked To Increased Risk of Early Death
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: People who regularly consume soft drinks have a higher risk of an early death, researchers have found, with the trend seen for both sugared and artificially sweetened drinks. While experts say the study cannot prove soft drinks are a driver of an increased risk of death, they say the work — which…
The Missing Piece of Amazon’s New York Debacle: It Kept a Burn Book
When Amazon scrubbed plans to build a second headquarters in New York City earlier this year, the reason appeared rooted in a debate about unions, tax subsidies and housing costs. Then there was the burn book. [Editor’s note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source.] The Wall Street Journal reports: In a private dossier kept at the time, whose existence has…
Macron Says France and US Have Reached a Deal To End a Standoff Over a French Tax on Big Internet Companies
France and the United States have reached a deal to end a standoff over a French tax on big internet companies, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday. From a report: U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to hit back with tariff action after France passed a law earlier this year that would impose a 3% tax on revenues earned on…
Apple, Spotify Discuss Siri Truce, as Antitrust Battle Looms
Apple and Spotify are in talks about potentially enabling Siri to play songs, albums, and playlists from the leading subscription music service. The Verge: A new report from The Information confirms that Spotify would be taking advantage of new capabilities that Apple is introducing in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, which allow other apps to be on equal footing with Apple…
Just 10 Percent of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Cash ‘Could Pay For Green Transition,’ Report Says
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Switching just some of the huge subsidies supporting fossil fuels to renewables would unleash a runaway clean energy revolution, according to a new report, significantly cutting the carbon emissions that are driving the climate crisis. Coal, oil and gas get more than $370 billion a year in support, compared with $100 billion…
Facebook Says It Was ‘Not Our Role’ To Remove Fake News During Australian Election
Facebook has declared it is not “our role to remove content that one side of a political debate considers to be false” in a final, positive, self-assessment of its actions in response to the death tax misinformation circulating on the platform during the May federal election. From a report: In correspondence seen by Guardian Australia, Simon Milner, the Singapore-based vice-president of…