La fiscalité numérique et le positionnement de Joe Biden

Lors de la conférence de presse du 12 février 2021 animée par Jen Psaki, une question a retenu mon attention, elle porte sur la fiscalité numérique donc aussi sur les GAFA.

La ministre des finances Yellen et ses homologues du G7 parlent de fiscalité numérique

Les conférences de presse de Jen Psaki porte-parole du président Biden sont toujours d’un grand intérêt. Lors de la conférence de presse du 12 février 2021 une question a retenu mon attention, elle porte sur la fiscalité numérique donc aussi sur les GAFA.

Q    Can I ask also about another meeting that happened with Yellen?  She spoke with her G7 counterparts.  A bit of a thorny issue came up.  There was a file in the previous administration over taxation of digital companies; many, of course, are American.  France tried to apply a tax.  So there’s a big question right now on how and if you tax those. 

Does the administration have a position on this?  I expect Secretary Yellen will brief the President on the call this afternoon.  What is your position on other countries or the globe, sort of, writ large taxing digitals giants?

MS. PSAKI:  Sure.  And just to catch some others up: So, Secretary Yellen spoke this morning with G7 finance ministers, so I think that was the conversation you were referring to.  And he’ll meet with her — the President will see her later today. 

The President believes that the largest corporations should pay their fair share in taxes.  That’s something, of course, he talked about on the campaign trail.  That’s when — why, when he was running for office, he called for a strong minimum tax.  That would mean that companies could no longer get away with shifting profits and jobs overseas in order to pay rock-bottom tax rates. 

He also recognizes this is a global problem and requires a global solution, and he wants to work, on a multilateral basis, to achieve reform that will strengthen the U.S. economy and benefit U.S. workers.  So it’s something, obviously, he remains committed to, but in terms of the next steps forward, obviously that will include a policy process internally, but also working with counterparts around the world.

Q    What would that mean, though, if other countries seek to impose these levies that would affect American companies?  President Trump had threatened retaliatory tariffs, for instance, on France.  Does Biden have a view on — would President Biden, excuse me, have a view on that, about whether he would retaliate if other countries went down this road unilaterally?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, again, I think what I was — that’s why I was referring to it as a multi- — as a kind of global problem.  Right?  It’s not just a problem here in the United States of us just adjusting our own policy.  Right?  It’s something that there needs to be agreement internationally, and obviously a conversation among the G7 finance ministers.  I’ll defer to Treasury to read that out, but it’s certainly an appropriate forum to have a range of these discussions. 

But I don’t have any new policy proposals to read out for you — only to convey to you the President is committed to this.  He wants to work, obviously, through an interagency process here, with key members of his economic team, but also through consultation with global partners around the world.