Google Tax, yes Chamber - Computer Point

Despite criticism and protest continues the process of amendment to the law of stability that wants to pass the trade of online services through mandatory VAT registration

Rome – The controversial amendment to the law of stability known as the Google Tax was approved by the House Budget Committee.

amendment, at first sign of Edward Fanucci (Pd), Sergio Boccadutri (Sel), Ernesto carbon (Pd), Antonio Castricone (Pd) and Stephanie Covello (Pd), would like to pay taxes to companies that operate on the Web and the Network in Italy, but they have a foreign flag and branches in other European countries with a tax regime more convenient where they can download the tax bill.

It is, in short, a real ad hoc law to collect due to large multinational companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple : but to do it imposes an obligation on the part of a company that wants to buy online services (e-commerce is that as sponsored links in advertising Adwords), to do so by persons holding a VAT Italian .

In addition, through the amendment presented by Stephanie Covello (Pd), for the purpose of tracking these purchases must be made by bank transfer or postal . Stop, therefore, by all the means commonly used online payment fast.

All this means – on the one hand – that there is a new obstacle to the further development of the digital economy Italian (for more linked to a system of taxation high as the VAT), on the other hand that the measure is likely to conflict with the opinion of the European institutions, so it could be – as it has already hinted the European Commission – a ‘ obstacle to the free movement of workers, one of the principles of the single market .

While the SIAE has called the new tax “an instrument of fairness” and the main supporter of the measure, the leader of the Democratic Party and chairman of the Committee on Francis Boccia, has branded all critics as “subordinate to the giants of the Internet”, there are many protests raised by the amendment .

The first complaints came from officers’ American Chamber of Commerce , which noted that “so it hinders the development of the digital economy” and it suggests that there will be repercussions for the Italian economy since so will undermine ” foreign direct investment is a prerequisite for growth. “

A surprise, then, has spoken out against the decision of the Tax Web Matteo Renzi, the new secretary of the party Boccia, who called it a” attempt to subject the digital companies foreign to Italian tax regulations, causing damage to both producers and consumers “

On the other hand, even before its new voting against the amendment had intervened operators sector directly involved and observers who fear that the maneuver may adversely affect the tortuous path of the Digital Agenda Italian. Citizens’ initiatives to curb the proposal of the Network are multiplying.

Claudio Tamburrino