The Wall Street Journal Last week I pointed out If multiple EU fraud lawsuits are successful, American shareholders could lose tens of billions of dollars in investment income from holdings in Silicon Valley companies such as Google and Apple.
These are typically lawsuits alleging that America's leading tech companies are acting like monopolies. Or, to borrow a phrase, that our tech companies are “price gouging.” Many of these companies now have market capitalizations of over $2 trillion. As these companies expand, so does the size of every pension fund in America and the benefits paid to workers.
The EU courts are outrageous The verdict was given This week, Apple shareholders learned that the company owes Europe 13.5 billion euros in back taxes because it took advantage of Ireland's low 12.5% tax rate. EU “competition chief” Declared This bogus court decision is “a major victory for European citizens and tax justice.” No, it's a major victory for big government.
Meanwhile, Google shareholders are now Being forced to pay We cost the EU $2.7 billion because their search engines dominate the European market. European search engines are so inferior that no one wants to use them. So let's sue American companies.
Let's be clear here: the laggards in the EU are just jealous. The Eurozone is being outdone by American tech dominance. No company in socialist Europe has found a way to compete with American innovations like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, etc. They can't compete, so they invent sour grapes lawsuits.
Kids who lose in middle school sports always complain that the other person didn't play fair.
The bigger question is why the Biden administration won't protect American companies from European blackmail: these tech lawsuits are a tax on American know-how and innovation.
Instead of protecting American shareholders from EU predators, Biden regulators are encouraging and lending legitimacy to foreign courts.
How can the US government complain about spurious antitrust attacks on Google and Apple (at a time when technology prices are falling dramatically) when regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice are introducing counterfeit products? Litigation Will they sue our country's tech giants in U.S. courts? Lina Khan The FTC has spent nearly four years Penetrating the technology industry Leaders who have their own troublesome lawsuits.
The arbitrary fine against Google is the result of an American company searching the world for the lowest tax environment (Ireland). Is this illegal? Thanks to the Trump tax cuts, our corporate tax rate has fallen to 21% from 35% under former President Barack Obama. However, President Joe Biden and current presidential candidate Kamala Harris have Increase to 28% Or even more. This will only lead to more jobs and investment moving overseas. Only 12.5%?
Instead of lowering interest rates here, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen I want to force Ireland and other low tax countries will raise their tax rates to over 15% – the lowest in the world. This is a lot like collusion or cartel policy – like telling Kellogg's that they can't sell Special K for less than $3 a box in order to compete with Cocoa Krispies.
Similarly, antitrust lawsuits filed by Europe and Washington against American tech companies are baseless because the prices of almost all tech services, from cell phones to drone deliveries, Internet searches, and fiber-optic connections, are falling. How can consumers be wronged when they continue to pay less for new technology?
There's an old saying in sports: “No harm, no foul.”
I often don't like the politics of Big Tech, but the end result of Washington trying to punish America's tech giants for building a better mousetrap is to drive the world's tech hubs, from Silicon Valley to Austin to Boston to Miami, to competitors — a good way to kill jobs and relegate America to the bottom.
Stephen Moore is a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Co-founder of Unleash Prosperity, he also serves as an economic adviser to the Trump campaign. His new book, co-authored with Arthur Laffer, “The Trump Economic Miracle,” will be released later this month.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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