VOA慢速英语2019 法国总统马克龙推动全球对数字服务征税

 

The United States has threatened to declare tariffs¹ of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion in imports from France. The targeted products would include of bottles of champagne², handbags and cheese.

美国威胁要对从法国进口的24亿美元产品征收高达100%的关税。目标产品将包括香槟、手袋和奶酪。

The Trump³ administration said it was considering the tariffs after finding that France's new digital services tax would harm U.S. technology companies.

川普政府称在发现法国新推出的数字服务税会损害美国科技公司之后开始考虑征收这项关税。

French President Emmanuel Macron pushed forward with the digital tax over the summer, ignoring U.S. anger at the measure. The administration says the tax unfairly targets American businesses.

法国总统马克龙今年夏天推行了这项数字服务税，完全无视了美国对此措施的怒火。川普政府表示，这项税收不公平地针对了美国企业。

The French leader wants to reach an international agreement on taxing large technology companies. It has urged U.S. officials to help reform taxes on businesses that operate overseas.

这位法国领导人希望就对大型科技公司征税达成一项国际协议。他督促美国官员帮助改革对海外经营企业的税收。

Here is a guide to the digital tax debate.

以下是关于这项数字税争论的一份指南。

What is a digital tax?

什么是数字税？

Large tech companies, such as Facebook, are able to report profits in low-tax countries like Ireland and Luxembourg, no matter where the money comes from.

大型科技公司无论资金来源何处，都可以在爱尔兰和卢森堡等低税率国家报告利润。

Macron says taxing such companies is a matter of social justice.

马克龙表示，对这类公司征税是一项社会正义问题。

The French leader campaigned hard for a digital tax to cover European Union member states, but faced resistance from Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

这位法国领导人为争取覆盖欧盟成员国的数字税进行了艰难游说，但是遇到了爱尔兰、丹麦、瑞典和芬兰的抵制。

What has France done?

法国做了什么？

After talks on a European Union digital tax failed, the French government passed its own digital tax in July. The 3% tax relates to revenue from digital services earned by companies with more than 25 million euros in revenue from France and 750 million euros worldwide.

在欧盟数字税谈判失败之后，法国政府于7月份出台了本国的数字税。这项3%税率的税种跟各公司通过数字服务获得的收入有关。这些收入有超过2500万欧元来自法国，全球范围内的收入高达7.5亿欧元。

France is not alone among European countries in proposing a tax on big tech. Britain, Spain, Italy, Austria, Mexico and Canada have also announced plans for their own digital taxes.

法国并非欧盟唯一一个提议对大型科技公司征税的国家。英国、西班牙、意大利、奥地利、墨西哥和加拿大也宣布了各自的数字税计划。

What does Macron want to achieve? His goal is to get a wider agreement on digital taxation⁴ under the auspices⁵ of the Organisation⁶ for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD is a group of 36 mostly industrial countries, including the United States.

马克龙想要实现什么目标？他的目标是在经合组织主导下，就数字税达成更广泛的协议。经合组织是一家包括美国在内的36个主要工业国家的组织。

At a G20 meeting in June, finance ministers agreed to set common rules to close tax loopholes and promised to work toward a solution by 2020.

在今年6月举行的20国集团峰会上，财长们同意制定统一标准以消除税收漏洞，并承诺设法在2020年前拿出解决方案。

The following month, G7 finance ministers agreed there should be a minimum level, or smallest amount, of tax to stop countries from competing in a "race to the bottom."

次月，7国集团财长同意应该有最低税额，以防止各国竞相降低税额。

The United States once supported the new international tax system to cover many different companies. But officials say the U.S. changed its mind recently when traditional companies found out that they would be taxed, too.

美国曾经支持让这项新的国际税制覆盖许多不同公司。但是官员们表示，当传统公司发现他们也将被征税时，美国改变了主意。

What obstacles lie in the way?、

有什么障碍？

U.S. President Donald Trump has called Macron's push for a French digital tax "foolishness."

美国总统川普称马克龙推动法国征收数字税的做法是愚蠢之举。

The issue of digital taxation has led to a new trade dispute between U.S. and E.U. officials, as economic relations between the two turn ugly.

数字税问题导致美国同欧盟在经济关系急转而下之时，双方官员之间又出现了新的贸易争端。

Low-tax countries, like Ireland, also have expressed concern about the French digital tax. They say the measure would make it harder for them to increase foreign direct investment with the promise of low taxes.

爱尔兰等低税率国家也对法国的数字税表示关注。他们表示，这一措施将让他们更难以通过低税收承诺提升外国直接投资。

1 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

2 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 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。

5 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

6 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。