Top EU economic powers warn US about tax plans

Associated Press ^ | Dec 11, 2017 12:02 PM EST | Raf Casert

[Olog-hai]

The European Union’s top five economies are warning the United States that its massive tax overhaul could violate some of its international obligations and risks having “a major distortive impact” on trade.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, the finance ministers of Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Spain wrote they had “significant concerns” about three tax initiatives in particular.

In the letter, seen by The Associated Press, the five wrote that “it is important that the U.S. government’s rights over domestic tax policy be exercised in a way that adheres with international obligations to which it has signed up.”

EU nations have been warily eyeing President Trump’s domestic tax proposals as they made their way through congress and have long expressed fears they might hurt world trade and EU companies in particular.

”The inclusion of certain less conventional international tax provisions could contravene the U.S.’s double taxation treaties and may risk having a major distortive impact on international trade,” the five wrote.

They specifically targeted the so-called Base Erosion and Anti-abuse Tax (or BEAT) Senate bill. This measure aims to combat what is called base erosion and profit shifting, the practice by some multinationals to avoid tax by exploiting mismatches in countries’ tax rules to artificially report their profits in countries with low or no taxes. …

[lgjhn23]

Cry me a river....pound sand, you commie bassturds.

[JoSixChip]

Damn, this tax bill must be better then I thought.

[Herakles]

Their free ride is over, Trump’s taking the candy away from the baby and soon they will know what it is like to be us!

[dila813]

They are being real vague, my guess is they are complaining about multi-nationals based in their countries being taxed on insurance payouts and real estate deals in the United States vs. other low tax countries that they current pay taxes in.

I just can’t even see why this is a distortion though, since everyone is playing by the same rules.

[allendale]

Someone explain again why US taxpayers spend over $200 billion/year stationing troops in Europe and provide the primary defense for the signatories of that letter. Trump should follow his instincts and withdraw from NATO.

[PGR88]

Damn, this tax bill must be better then I thought.

I Know! if the crypto-fascists and central planners in Europe are complaining, there's got to be something really good about it.

[Chainsawj]

Or just move our bases to Poland and another country that would welcome us with open arms, all you would have to do is threaten to move our bases and they would shut up.

uk parliament wants to pass a resolution saying President Trump isn’t welcome there, then we should move our bases and put them on the list of Dangerous Countries because of all the terror attacks there.

They would cry and whine and beg for President Trump to come visit.

[A strike]

“Top EU economic powers warn US about tax plans.”

Screw them.

[dforest]

We do not want to be EU. Go to hell EU and mind your own crappy muzzie countries business.

[ETCM]

"The European Union’s top five economies are warning the United States that its massive tax overhaul could violate some of its international obligations and risks having “a major distortive impact” on trade."

Yet they are just fine with EU member Ireland's tax laws? Welcome to the Trump era, where we will withdraw from treaties that screw us over as we see fit. FUEU.

[Olog-hai]

Actually, they aren’t just fine with Ireland’s tax laws; they’ve been trying to twist Ireland’s arm for quite a few years to “harmonize” their tax rates with the bigger EU countries (i.e. raise them to match Germany’s, so that Ireland’s competitive edge is utterly lost).

Now if Ireland’s current politicians were not slavish EU-crats, then a bilateral trade agreement with the US would benefit their country far more than their EU membership and may even wake up the people out of their apathy.

[snooter55]

Booger off you filthy losers !

Must we support the entire world ? !

[JayGalt]

GTH EU

[Olog-hai]

The idea of “support” came from the Democrats, who were all for tearing the USA apart for the sake of international leftism. There is a book called Germany Plots with the Kremlin written by T.H. Tetens in 1953, and this quote outlines their plan to bleed the USA dry to build their new empire:

A careful study of the available documentation must lead to the conclusion that the German aim is the creation of a third power bloc, based on the following principle:

“Let the United States first press for a European Federation, and let the American taxpayers provide the billions of dollars required for German rearmament. After a German-dominated Europe is established, we shall have the opportunity for a far better bargain with the Russians. Moscow will pay a high price if we pledge ourselves to break with the United States. Then the moment will come when Germany can again play an independent role in the world power politics.” …

That is the basis of European politics towards the USA to this day. The Democrats are their agents in DC. Note the open preference for Obama and Hillary versus Trump, out of them.

[Moltke]

Or just move our bases to Poland

Yes, moving the bases right to the Russian border should work out well...;)

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Olog-hai.

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[rrrod]

A good EU is a dead EU...

[familyop]

The EU has been perpetrating a trade war against us all along.

[central_va]

FUEU