https://espresso.economist.com/ad9f2f92fd04851d42d216a6954683c3
Jan 2nd 2019
Paris plucks the goose: digital taxation
- pluck 拔掉，退去（死禽的毛）
France’s new sales tax on big technology firms, including Google and Facebook, kicked in on January 1st, with the aim of bringing in €500m ($575m) a year.
- kick in 缴付
The French government has led calls to squeeze more tax revenue from digital giants, but a national levy wasn’t its first choice; it had pushed for a European Union-wide tax, but this was stymied by opposition from Ireland, Sweden and others.
- squeeze 压榨；榨取；紧缩
- levy 征收额；（尤指）税款
- stymied 〈美〉被袭击的
While Eurocrats have another go at forging consensus—with a new deadline of March—a dozen member states have either announced plans to follow France’s lead or say they may do so.
- Eurocrats 欧盟机构；欧洲官僚
- forge 锻造；(坚定地)勉力前进；锻炼；编造(故事等)
These national levies, and the EU one, are supposed to be interim measures that will be withdrawn once a multilateral digital-tax framework is agreed under the auspices of the OECD.
- interim 暂时的；过渡的；期中的
- auspice 赞助；主办；保护
But a global deal looks far off, not least because America, home to the biggest technology firms, sees such taxes as discriminatory.
- discriminatory 区别对待的；不公正的；歧视的
Expect a transatlantic tech-tax tussle.
- transatlantic 横渡大西洋的；横越大西洋的；大西洋两岸国家的
- tussle 扭打，角逐；争斗；扭斗
