经济学人101:企业税务 计划夭折

 　　Corporate¹ taxation²

　　企业税务

　　Death of the Double Irish

　　计划夭折

　　The Irish government plans to alter one of its more controversial tax policies

　　爱尔兰政府计划改变其一项颇具争议的税收政策

　　BONO may front one of the world's most popular rock bands, but the U2 singer did not earn many new fans when he recently defended Ireland's controversial tax policies, which are widely seen as helping³ multinationals⁴ to avoid paying their fair share. Even Ireland's government seems to be having doubts. On October 14th it announced plans to close the country's biggest loophole, the “Double Irish”.

　　BONO 也许面对的是世界上最流行的摇滚乐队之一，但是U2最近并没有因为爱尔兰有争议的税收政策做辩护而增加新的粉丝，而这一税收政策被广泛认为是在帮助跨国公司避税，而这些税本是公平份额。甚至爱尔兰政府似乎也有些疑虑。10月14日，其宣布了用以弥补国家最大漏洞的“Double Irish”计划。

　　企业税务.jpg

　　The Double Irish allows companies to shift their profits from high-tax countries to havens⁵. This is typically done by transferring royalty⁶ payments for intellectual property to a firm inIreland, then on to another Irish-registered subsidiary that is tax-resident in a country with no corporate-income tax, such as Bermuda. Users can thereby⁷ cut their effective tax rate—perfectly legally—far below Ireland's already low 12.5% rate, in some cases down to less than 2%. The ruse⁸ is popular with American computing⁹ and pharmaceutical¹⁰ firms.

　　“Double Irish”计划可以使公司收益更多，把高税收国家变成了天堂。这通常是通过将知识产权特许使用金转入一家位于爱尔兰的公司，而后转入另一家在爱尔兰注册的子公司，该子公司为某一国家没有企业所得税纳税居民，如百慕大。用户因此可以缩减其有效税率，使其远远低于爱尔兰已经很低12.5%的税率，在某些情况下，甚至可以低于2%，且完全合法。这一策略在美国计算机公司及制药公司中被普遍使用。

　　From January all new companies domiciled inIrelandwill also have to be tax-residents there, making the Double Irish impossible.Irelandis acting¹¹ under pressure from America, the European Commission and the OECD, which are working on multilateral reform of international tax rules to curb¹² avoidance. This is not the first time it has buckled¹³. Last year it made it illegal for firms registered inIrelandto declare themselves stateless for tax purposes.

　　从一月起，所有在爱尔兰注册的新公司将不得不成为这里纳税居民，这使得“Double Irish”计划不可能再有后续进展。爱尔兰在行动的同时还要要考虑来着美国，欧盟委员会和经济合作与发展组织的压力，它们正致力于多边国际税法改革以遏制避税行为。这已经不是第一次改革了。去年其使得在爱尔兰注册的公司为避税而宣布其无国籍的行为变得非法。

　　The retreat has kindled¹⁴ fears that foreign firms, many of which moved to Ireland largely for its tax policies, will leave for more accommodating climes. (As it is, a clampdown on avoidance in America seems to have deterred¹⁵ AbbVie, a drugs firm, from taking over Shire, a rival based inIreland.) Yet the government is giving with one hand even as it takes with the other. On the same day it did away with the Double Irish, it created a “knowledge development box”, which will allow firms to pay a lower tax rate on profits from intellectual property booked inIreland. The OECD has tried, unsuccessfully, to limit this type of tax benefit, which is also known as a “patent box”. Moreover, the Double Irish won't die overnight. Companies already registered in Ireland are being given six years to alter their accounting¹⁶ structures.

　　“Double Irish”计划的衰落引发了外国公司的担心，许多外国公司是由于爱尔兰的税收政策才迁入爱尔兰的，他们将离开爱尔兰去寻找政策更好的地方。（实际上，打压美国公司的避税行为似乎是在阻止AbbVie制药公司取代其竞争对手——源于爱尔兰的Shire。）然而，政府一只手在奉献，另一只手却在掠夺。摒弃了“Double Irish”计划的同一天，政府又创建了一个“知识发展盒子”计划，该计划使得公司利用登记在爱尔兰的知识产权盈利时所应缴纳的所得税税率更低。经济合作与发展组织尝试过去限制此类被称为“专利盒子”税收优惠，但失败了。此外，“Double Irish”计划不会在一夜之间魂飞魄散。已经在爱尔兰注册的公司会被给予6年的时间以改变其会计结构。

　　Ireland's move will raise pressure on other countries that are seen as enablers of rampant¹⁷ tax avoidance, even if they are not themselves havens, thanks to their business-friendly networks of tax treaties. Chief among them are Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Bono knows all about the fiscal¹⁸ delights of the Low Countries: in 2006, U2 moved the firm that houses its publishing royalties¹⁹ from Ireland to the Netherlands, largely for tax reasons.

　　爱尔兰的举动会给那些被视为猖獗的避税行为推动者的国家带来压力，即使他们也不是避税天堂，多亏了他们的亲商税收条约网络。这其中最主要的国家是卢森堡和荷兰。Bono很清楚低税收国家的财政喜悦：在2006年，U2将其出版公司从爱尔兰迁到荷兰，很大程度上是出于税收的原因。译者：川端

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 multinationals   

跨国公司( multinational的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These local companies are only small fry compared with the huge multinationals. 同那些跨国公司比，这些当地的公司不过是小鱼小虾。
• Some people believe that the multinationals have too much power. 有人认为跨国公司的权力太大了。

5 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

6 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

7 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

8 ruse   

n.诡计，计策；诡计

参考例句：

• The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。

9 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

10 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

13 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

14 kindled   

（使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光

参考例句：

• We watched as the fire slowly kindled. 我们看着火慢慢地燃烧起来。
• The teacher's praise kindled a spark of hope inside her. 老师的赞扬激起了她内心的希望。

15 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

16 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

17 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

18 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

19 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分