The Cheif Executive Officer, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is set to throw his weight behind the call for technology giants to pay tax in Europe. This was disclosed by the billionaire when he was preparing to speak at the Munich Security Conference.
At the conference, he is expected to say that Facebook will support digital tax reform on a global scale under plans put forward by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
What it means: The development means digital firms, including social media platforms and other Internet companies, pay more tax in countries where they have significant consumer-facing activities and generate profits.
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The current system for taxing multinationals is based on where they are physically located, which sees Internet companies such as Facebook pay the majority of their tax in the US.
Zuckerberg is expected to say, “I understand that there’s frustration about how tech companies are taxed in Europe. We also want tax reform and I’m glad the OECD is looking at this.
“We want the OECD process to succeed so that we have a stable and reliable system going forward. And we accept that may mean we have to pay more tax and pay it in different places under a new framework.”
Nairametrics had reported that the Federal Government has also made efforts to ensure foreign based tech firms that make profit from Nigeria are taxed.
The government through Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, disclosed that all multinational digital companies operating abroad with significant economic presence in Nigeria will now be subjected to taxation under the new Finance Act.
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Osinbajo explained that only companies that have a physical presence in the country were being taxed previously, adding that the new law had changed this.
He said, “So, most digital and multinational technology companies do not have a physical presence in Nigeria, yet make significant income in Nigeria from online activities.
They pay no tax to Nigeria because they do not have a physical presence in Nigeria, now we are no longer relying on physical presence.”
“Under the new Act, once you have a significant economic presence in Nigeria, you are liable to tax whether you are resident here or not,” he noted, adding that non-residents, who previously had no fixed address would now be taxed under the new Act.
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