Final Word from Thursday, October 8, 2020

The finance ministry proposed a 7% digital tax last year on internet giants and justified it by saying that it's necessary to equal out the business environment for companies based on traditional models and for those based on digital models. It can be expected, the ministry added, that this will have a positive impact on equalizing the domestic tax conditions. One year later the position of the internet giants is even more dominant. Covid-19 has consolidated their position, and also that of a disparate group of goods and service providers - from telecoms operators to grocery-delivery services - who in many cases can't believe their good fortune. The flip side of this, of course, is the utter destruction of vast swaths of the pre-covid economy. If an equalization of the business and tax environment was needed one year ago, it is doubly needed today. Instead of a narrowly defined digital tax, the debate will move now toward a broader covid tax on those making a killing from the devastation. [ Czech Republic taxation Amazon Google Facebook Microsoft Apple Seznam.cz ]