I think the financial crisis in some of these EU countries have reached a point where they are politically paralyzed (can't move to the right due to strong leftism in the electorate) so they'll just find a way to milk multi-nationals to keep the lights on. This isn't a long term strategy and is a sign of some bad stuff coming up. I believe in the long run the welfare state is unaffordable and without a move to the right these countries will suffer, especially as business moves to more tax friendly jurisdictions and leaves these markets over government abuse, low sales, low margins, etc.
Currently, Spain has 25% unemployment and almost 50% for those under 25. The GDP is falling at the same rate it is for France and Italy. The sudden interest in these countries to raid multi-nationals for tax reasons is no coincidence here. France just raided Google's office last month. I suspect Italy is next.
Google, like many other multinationals pay absolutely minuscule taxes. They have eradicated large parts of national advertisement companies across Europe, who all have to pay normal tax rates, while Google pays close to zero.
You are not a leftwing nutjob just because you want companies to pay taxes for the money they earn in your country. A free market relies on a level playingfield and when multinationals can exploit loopsholes in this manner it distorts the competition.
I am not sure why you single out Euro countries as not interested in modernizing. I can't speak for other European countries but I can speak for Norway where I am from and our taxation system is decades ahead of archaic mess found in the US e.g. The fact that a large part of the American population have to pay professionals to fill out their taxes says something about the complexity and backwardness of the system.
How would you decide what money they earn in your country? It's a tricky question for multinationals.
The internet is a real mess for anything that has to do with jurisdiction, which is the underpinning of taxation. Free flow of capital could be acceptable when goods were eventually involved, since their physical presence decided jurisdiction; as goods become similarly immaterial, new parameters are required. The current "equilibrium" is anything but.
Google (and other on-line operators) have taken market from national advertisement companies because they are much more efficient and offer more value, not because of taxes.
Consider that Europe has had austerity in several countries. The average person was told that they needed to suffer fiscally for a few years (in terms of social services being trimmed and taxes not going down, sometimes going up) in order to redress spending imbalances and show the bond markets that things are under control. Meanwhile, we learn that the very largest, cash-rich, profitable companies in the world are paying little tax compared to other companies and small businesses, all because of special tax treatment in some countries. Is it any surprise that politicians have to act on that? This is the connection.
And someone below said that the HN forum is far left. That's a little rich, pun intended, given that many of the people who contribute are directly related to venture capital, or own lots of stock or are self employed, or just wealthy. Sometimes the world can't as easily be broken into left and right.
[1] http://www.cnet.com/news/spain-says-it-has-arrested-anonymou...
Isn't that backwards?
They also have gear that can splice into the power cord of a live machine without interrupting the flow-- the combination of these two devices allows them to seize unlocked computers and keep them accessible while taking custody of the machine.
I'm not sure if opening a Google Doc from the local file system would work without a connection.
I mean, you could do it it software too, but it would look cool and send a signal to the officers. :-)
Or you could keep the door locked.
Sounds like a lose-lose scenario, to me.
https://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en&v=issue&sid=2&iid=84...
Not if they have to keep information on paper to comply with the law.
This really means print on demand.