Читать книгу Global Tax Governance. Taxation on Digital Economy, Transfer Pricing and Litigation in Tax Matters (MAPs + ADR) Policies for Global Sustainability. Ongoing U.N. 2030 (SDG) and Addis Ababa Agendas онлайн

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To be sure, other policy options exist. Proposals to tax international currency transactions (the Tobin tax) could also raise huge amounts, but here too an international agreement would be needed to make it effective. Unilateral measures are also possible (for both the digital economy and for international currency transactions) but for a variety of reasons, mainly to do with scale and power, would be difficult for smaller countries to implement and would thus not resolve the fiscal problems of many countries.

The key to an agreement is the position of United States. Not only is theirs the largest economy in the world, but their currency –the dollar– is the main currency used in international trade and currency transactions. More than 63% of all global contracts are denominated in US dollars. Getting the US to agree will therefore be crucial to any outcome.

As things currently stand with a new US administration in office, the chances of reaching an agreement have risen. But the power of corporate interests –in the US and elsewhere– is still being deployed aggressively to prevent progress at both international and national levels. At the same time, it is many of these same corporates that have benefitted disproportionately from the global surge in online economic activity. So the pain of a new tax should be easily borne by this sector without much difficulty.