经济学人:21世纪各国税制(2)

 Tax systems have also failed to adapt to technological¹ change. 税制也未能适应技术变革。

The rising importance of intellectual property means that it is almost impossible to pin down where a multinational² really makes money. 知识产权越来越重要，这意味着几乎不可能明确跨国公司在哪里能真的赚到钱。

Tech giants like Apple and Amazon stash³ their intangible capital in havens⁴ such as Ireland, and pay too little tax elsewhere. 像苹果公司和亚马逊这样的科技巨头都暗中将自己的无形资本放在像爱尔兰这样的天堂，而在其他地方只缴纳很少的税。

This month it emerged that Amazon’s British subsidiary paid ￡1.7m ($2.2m) in tax last year, 本月得知亚马逊的英国子公司去年缴税170万英镑（合220万英镑），

on profits of ￡72m and revenues of ￡11.4bn. 而利润为7200万英镑，收入为114亿英镑。

By one recent estimate, close to 40% of multinational profits are shifted to low-tax countries each year. 根据最近估计，每年跨国公司近40%的利润都会转移到低税国家。

The “solutions” to such problems often only exacerbate⁵ the daunting⁶ complexity⁷ of today’s tax code— 这类问题的“应对措施”通常只会加剧如今税制的繁复——

and, if lobbies have their way, add extra loopholes too. 而且，如果游说团体很有一套，又会产生新漏洞。

The European Union wants to determine when firms have a “virtual nexus” in a state, 欧盟想知道公司何时同某个国家有“虚拟联系”，

and will then allocate⁸ profits across countries using a complicated formula. 之后再通过复杂的公式将利润分配给各国。

America’s supposedly simplifying recent tax reform included stunningly⁹ complex new rules for multinationals¹⁰. 据称，美国近期税制改革简化包括针对跨国公司的极其复杂的新规则。

International efforts to co-operate to prevent profit-shifting have made progress. 防止利润转移的国际努力已取得新进展。

But they are hamstrung by disagreements over how to treat technology firms and competition for investment in a world where capital crosses borders. 但分歧仍然存在，在资本跨国的世界如何对待技术公司和投资竞争仍待商榷。

Fundamental tax reform can boost growth and make societies fairer— 基本的税制改革能促进经济增长和社会公平——

whatever the share of GDP a government takes in tax. 无论政府税收占GDP多少比例。

Fortunately, the principles according to which rich countries can design a good system are clear: 幸运的是，富裕国家可以根据这个原则设计一个好的税制：

taxes should target rents, preserve incentives¹¹ and be hard to avoid. 税收应以租金为目标，保留激励措施，并使之难以避税。

All countries should tax both property and inheritance more. 所有国家都应对财产和遗产征收更多的税。

These taxes are unpopular but mostly efficient. 如此征税虽不甚受欢迎，但大多行之有效。

In a world where property ownership brings windfalls that persist across generations, such taxes are desirable. 房产所有权可以给千秋万代带来意外之财，在这样的世界，如此征税合情合理。

A conservative first step would be to roll back recent cuts to inheritance tax. 保守的第一步是增加近期削减过的遗产税。

A more radical¹² approach would be to introduce a land-value tax, 更激进的方法是引入土地增值税，

the most efficient of all property taxes and one with a long liberal heritage. 这在所有房产税里面最行之有效，且具长期自由传统。

 

1 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

2 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

3 stash   

v.藏或贮存于一秘密处所；n.隐藏处

参考例句：

• Stash away both what you lost and gained,for life continues on.将得失深藏心底吧，为了那未来的生活。
• That's supposed to be in our private stash.这是我的私人珍藏。

4 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

5 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

6 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

7 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

8 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。

9 stunningly   

ad.令人目瞪口呆地；惊人地

参考例句：

• The cooks, seamstresses and other small investors are stunningly vulnerable to reversals. 那些厨师、裁缝及其他的小投资者非常容易受到股市逆转的影响。
• The production cost of this huge passenger liner is stunningly high. 这艘船城造价之高令人惊叹。

10 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。

11 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。