Britain´s tax on tech titans may be the key to cutting them down to size
(The Guardian Business News)

Trump is threatening retaliation if the UK plan becomes law. But taking a tough line may be the key to a global dealWhen US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin threatens to impose tariffs on a country´s car industry if it taxes American tech giants, you are inclined to believe that he means it. `If people want to just arbitrarily put taxes on our digital companies,` he said, `we will consider arbitrarily putting taxes on car companies.`A trigger-happy White House, steeped in trade disputes with various economic competitors, needs little excuse for retaliation. So the British government´s plan to impose a 2% sales tax on the largest digital companies - ensnaring the likes of Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple - provides all the excuse President Donald Trump needs. Continue reading...