BigTech Fines, Back Taxes and Big Lessons: Americans invent, Chinese scale, Europeans regulate, Others merely consume!

The Americans invent, the Chinese scale and the Europeans regulate. Others merely consume. For those three players, everyone is pushing. Europe now wants to collect really big, and is asking Apple to pay $14.4 billion in back taxes:

“Europe’s top court has dealt a significant blow to Apple, ruling against the tech giant in a long-standing legal battle over its tax dealings in Ireland…The ruling upholds the European Commission’s original 2016 decision, which ordered Ireland to recover up to €13 billion ($14.4 billion) in back taxes from Apple. The Commission had accused Ireland of providing “illegal” tax benefits to Apple over two decades, enabling the company to pay significantly less tax than it would have under standard EU rules.”

Good People, what are African lawyers doing? If you guys do not have an office, the Ovim Nation has a space we can donate; just stay there and send summons to BigTech. There is a likelihood you can collect for Africa. Europe generates $billions on fines and goal-post shifting back taxes yearly.

LinkedIn Summary: Apple and Google were fined billions by European regulators on Tuesday in two landmark rulings that are seen as a “key victory” for the bloc and its scrutiny of Big Tech. In a case dating back to 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Apple must pay Ireland roughly $14.4 billion worth of unpaid taxes. Meanwhile, Brussels fined Google about $2.6 billion in a seven-year-old case that accused it of “abusing its monopoly power” to best rivals in shopping. The decisions were seen as major tests of the EU’s bid to rein in large tech firms on tax and antitrust matters.

• Apple said Tuesday’s decision effectively enabled the bloc to set “a double tax” on a business already taxed in the U.S.
• Google said it was “disappointed” by the ruling, but that it had already made changes to comply with an earlier decision.
• Google is separately facing allegations from federal prosecutors that it maintains an illegal monopoly on the advertising technology market, in an antitrust trial now underway in Virginia.

Comment on Feed:

Comment 1: Ndubuisi Prof – The conclusion is based on the premise that because EU does something, this must be a lesson for Africa, and in particular Nigeria.

Ireland simply pursued a sovereign approach to having strong ‘Ease to Do business’ credentials.

But it is a member of the EU and Brussels has ruled. It can either abide by the decision or pull out.
Ireland has a former British colonial heritage, not French.

It’s approach is different. Irrespective Britain in no longer in EU, the dynamic of Ireland leaving EU would be like Nigeria deciding to leave ECOWAS.

Moreover everywhere has strong points and weak points and while Nigeria has challenges, this does not mean on all things, EU model is right and Nigeria model is wrong.

Nigeria already has close to the worst ‘Ease to do business’ credentials as any in Africa, and unlike Ireland in EU, it’s position in ECOWAS is not at risk by retaining what small number of policies that are useful, and building upon them to improve its ranking.

Nigeria needs to ignore EU and pay attention to Rwanda. If Goliath had sought advice from David rather than conflict, he may have lived and prospered.

My Response:  Good points. Of course, I wrote in figures of speech. No African country (except South Africa) can modulate the big tech considering how much we make for them.

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