歐洲五國(guó)財(cái)長(zhǎng)對(duì)美國(guó)稅改計(jì)劃發(fā)出警告

The finance ministers from Europe’s five largest economies have warned the Trump administration that Republican tax cut plans would flout international agreements and undermine trade, threatening to turn a Washington policy battle into a transatlantic row.

歐洲五個(gè)最大經(jīng)濟(jì)體的財(cái)長(zhǎng)警告特朗普(Trump)政府稱，美國(guó)共和黨的減稅計(jì)劃將違反國(guó)際協(xié)議并損害貿(mào)易，可能使一場(chǎng)華盛頓的政策斗爭(zhēng)演變?yōu)榇笪餮髢砂兜臓?zhēng)端。

In a letter to the White House and US Treasury department, the ministers — including Philip Hammond of the UK, Peter Altmaier of Germany and Bruno Le Maire of France — raised the possibility of retaliating if the legislation becomes law.

在寫給美國(guó)白宮和美國(guó)財(cái)政部的信中，歐洲五國(guó)財(cái)長(zhǎng)——包括英國(guó)財(cái)政大臣菲利普•哈蒙德(Philip Hammond)、德國(guó)財(cái)長(zhǎng)彼得•阿爾特邁爾(Peter Altmaier)和法國(guó)財(cái)長(zhǎng)布魯諾•勒梅爾(Bruno Le Maire)——提出，如果美國(guó)將相關(guān)議案變成法律，他們可能會(huì)采取報(bào)復(fù)性措施。

The letter highlights concerns in Europe that the Trump administration will use tax reform as a route to promote “America first” trade discrimination, escalating tensions that have already risen in other policy areas like the environment and Middle East peace.

這封信突顯歐洲擔(dān)憂特朗普政府將以稅改為由，推動(dòng)“美國(guó)優(yōu)先”的歧視性貿(mào)易做法，使得雙方在環(huán)境、中東和平等其他政策領(lǐng)域已然升溫的緊張關(guān)系進(jìn)一步加劇。

The ministers insisted they were not seeking to intervene in a domestic tax debate, which they called one of “the essential pillars of a state’s sovereignty”. Nevertheless, the letter warned Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury secretary, that Washington should not start a trade dispute under the guise of anti-avoidance measures in taxation.

五位財(cái)長(zhǎng)堅(jiān)稱不想干預(yù)美國(guó)的國(guó)內(nèi)稅收辯論，他們稱這是“一國(guó)主權(quán)的基本支柱”之一。然而，這封信警告美國(guó)財(cái)長(zhǎng)史蒂文•姆努欽(Steven Mnuchin)稱，華盛頓方面不應(yīng)假借推行反避稅措施，實(shí)際上卻開啟貿(mào)易爭(zhēng)端。

“We have strong concerns if [US action to protect its tax base] is done via measures that are not targeted on abusive arrangements as this would impact on genuine business activities,” they wrote.

他們寫道：“我們深懷擔(dān)憂，美國(guó)是否要通過那些并非針對(duì)濫用安排的措施來完成(保護(hù)其稅基的行動(dòng))，因?yàn)檫@將影響真正的商業(yè)活動(dòng)。”

In addition to Mr Mnuchin, the letter, which was also signed by Pier Carlo Padoan of Italy and Cristóbal Montoro of Spain, was sent to Gary Cohn, the top White House economic adviser, and heads of the congressional committees locked in negotiations to marry different versions of the tax bill passed by the Senate and House of Representatives. The committee heads’ goal is to have final legislation on the president’s desk by the end of the year.

除了姆努欽，這封信還寄給了白宮最高經(jīng)濟(jì)顧問加里•科恩(Gary Cohn)以及美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)一些委員會(huì)的負(fù)責(zé)人，這些委員會(huì)正進(jìn)行磋商，以將參議院和眾議院各自通過的稅收法案統(tǒng)一起來。這些委員會(huì)負(fù)責(zé)人的目標(biāo)是在年內(nèi)將最終版本的法案提交給總統(tǒng)簽署。意大利財(cái)長(zhǎng)皮耶•卡洛•帕多安(Pier Carlo Padoan)和西班牙財(cái)長(zhǎng)克里斯托瓦爾•蒙托羅(Cristóbal Montoro)也在這封信上簽了名。

“We appreciate the views of the finance ministers,” said a US Treasury spokesperson. “We are closely working with Congress as they finalise the legislation.”

“我們了解這些財(cái)長(zhǎng)們的觀點(diǎn)，”美國(guó)財(cái)政部一發(fā)言人表示，“我們正與國(guó)會(huì)密切合作，他們正在敲定該法案。”

All of the measures that have angered European governments would treat US operations differently than those from overseas groups, provisions that the finance ministers said violate international tax norms.

美國(guó)稅改計(jì)劃中所有讓歐洲國(guó)家不滿的措施都將把美國(guó)業(yè)務(wù)與海外公司的業(yè)務(wù)區(qū)別對(duì)待，財(cái)長(zhǎng)們表示這些規(guī)定將違反國(guó)際稅收準(zhǔn)則。

For example, an “excise tax” in the House bill would impose a 20 per cent levy on US company purchases from their foreign subsidiaries which would not apply to similar domestic transactions. The letter said this “could discriminate in a manner that would be at odds with international rules embodied” in the World Trade Organization.

例如，根據(jù)眾議院版法案中的一項(xiàng)“銷售稅”(excise tax)規(guī)定，美國(guó)公司向它們的海外子公司采購(gòu)將被課稅20%，但如果是境內(nèi)的類似交易就不用繳納此稅。信中寫道，這“可能會(huì)造成歧視，與國(guó)際規(guī)則相抵觸”。

The other two elements are the Senate bill, including a provision that would tax US exporters more favourably when they make profits from brands and other intangible assets. The letter argues the measure could “face challenges as an illegal export subsidy”, a thinly-veiled threat of European retaliation.

另外兩個(gè)因素涉及參議院版法案，其中一個(gè)條款規(guī)定，當(dāng)美國(guó)出口商從品牌和其他無形資產(chǎn)中獲取利潤(rùn)時(shí)，對(duì)它們的稅收將更優(yōu)惠。這封信辯稱這項(xiàng)措施可能“被質(zhì)疑為非法出口補(bǔ)貼”——可以說，歐洲這是在幾乎不加掩飾地發(fā)出報(bào)復(fù)威脅。

Other Senate measures would tax transfers within international banks and insurance companies on the total amount sent between US and European operations regardless of the balance between transatlantic flows.

參議院版法案的其他措施將是對(duì)跨國(guó)銀行和保險(xiǎn)公司內(nèi)部美國(guó)和歐洲業(yè)務(wù)之間的匯款總額征稅，而不管跨大西洋資金流動(dòng)余額。

Some of the European criticisms have been shared by a group of US tax academics, who published a recent analysis that said both the excise tax and financial flows measure “likely violates WTO obligations and presents tax treaty concerns”.

美國(guó)一些稅務(wù)學(xué)者認(rèn)同歐洲的某些批評(píng)，他們最近發(fā)表一項(xiàng)分析報(bào)告認(rèn)為，銷售稅和資金流動(dòng)措施“可能違反WTO規(guī)則，并讓人擔(dān)憂稅收協(xié)定”。

A French finance ministry official said the letter was “a way to weigh in to the debate, to ensure they take our concerns on board” and was organised quickly because “more informal things haven’t really worked”.

一位法國(guó)財(cái)政部官員表示，這封信是“參與辯論的一種方式，以確保他們認(rèn)真對(duì)待我們的關(guān)切”，之所以迅速組織起來是因?yàn)?ldquo;較不正式的東西沒有真正奏效”。

Mr Altmaier, the acting German finance minister, said: “The US is our ally and it has the right to shape its tax system as it sees fit. But it must be in compliance with the international rules that are in effect.”

德國(guó)代理財(cái)長(zhǎng)阿爾特邁爾表示：“美國(guó)是我們的盟友，它有權(quán)以其認(rèn)為合適的方式制定稅收制度。但它必須遵守業(yè)已生效的國(guó)際規(guī)則。”

Responding to commemnts on the “base erosion and anti-abuse tax” (BEAT) provision in the Senate bill, a spokeswoman for the Senate finance committee said: “The BEAT applies equally to domestic and foreign companies that are subject to US tax and is modeled after the long-standing corporate minimum tax. It has been studied, vetted, and is consistent with international standards, including WTO agreements.”

美國(guó)參議院金融委員會(huì)一位發(fā)言人在回應(yīng)關(guān)于參議院版法案中“稅基侵蝕和反濫用稅”(base erosion and anti-abuse tax)條款的評(píng)論時(shí)表示：“該稅制適用于受美國(guó)稅法約束的國(guó)內(nèi)外公司，并效仿長(zhǎng)期以來的公司最低稅額。我們進(jìn)行了研究和審查，它符合包括WTO協(xié)定在內(nèi)的國(guó)際標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。”

The European letter is only the latest in a series of disputes between Europe and the US over tax issues that date back to the Obama administration.

早在奧巴馬(Obama)擔(dān)任美國(guó)總統(tǒng)期間，歐洲和美國(guó)就圍繞稅收問題爆發(fā)了一系列爭(zhēng)論，歐洲財(cái)長(zhǎng)們的這封信只是這些爭(zhēng)論的最新進(jìn)展。

Then-President Barack Obama publicly complained about European Commission actions targeting American tech groups for “sweetheart” tax agreements with several low-tax EU countries.

時(shí)任美國(guó)總統(tǒng)巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)公開抱怨過歐盟委員會(huì)(European Commission)針對(duì)美國(guó)科技集團(tuán)與數(shù)個(gè)低稅收歐盟國(guó)家達(dá)成的“甜心”稅收協(xié)定采取的措施。

The most high-profile case has come against Apple, which has been ordered by Brussels to pay €13bn in back taxes to Ireland, but the commission has also opened similar cases against Amazon in Luxembourg and Starbucks in the Netherlands.

最引人注目的案件是針對(duì)蘋果(Apple)的，后者被布魯塞爾要求向愛爾蘭支付130億歐元的欠稅，但歐盟委員會(huì)也針對(duì)在盧森堡的亞馬遜(Amazon)和在荷蘭的星巴克(Starbucks)發(fā)起了類似的案件。

Additional reporting by Vanessa Houlder in London and Guy Chazan in Berlin

瓦妮莎•霍德爾(Vanessa Houlder)倫敦和蓋伊•查贊(Guy Chazan)柏林補(bǔ)充報(bào)道