2021 考研英语一阅读理解

Beware: Other Nations Will Follow France With Their Own Digital Tax

The New York Times《纽约时报》 Jul15th,2019                                                                                                           

1.Last Thursday, the French Senate(法国参议院) passed a digital services tax(税), which would impose an entirely new tax on(对...征收全新税) large multinationals(跨国公司) that provide digital services to consumers(消费者) or users in France. Digital services include everything from providing a platform for selling goods and services online to targeting advertising(定向广告) based on user data. and the tax applies to gross revenue(总收入) from such services. Many French politicians and media outlets(媒体机构) have referred to this as(称为) a “GAFA tax,” meaning that it is designed to apply primarily to companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon — in other words, multinational tech companies based in the United States.

2.The digital services tax now awaits the signature of President Emmanuel Macron, who has expressed support for the measure, and it could go into effect(生效) within the next few weeks. But it has already sparked(引起;导致) significant controversy(争议), with the United States trade representative opening an investigation(调查) into whether the tax discriminates(区别对待;歧视) against American companies, which in turn(相应地) could lead to trade sanctions (贸易制裁) against France.

3.The French tax is not just a unilateral(单方面的) move by one country in need of revenue(税收). Instead, the digital services tax is part of a much larger trend, with countries over the past few years proposing or putting in place(准备就绪) an alphabet soup of  new international tax provisions(规定). These have included Britain's DPT (diverted(转移) profits tax), Australia's MAAL (multinational antiavoidance(反避税) law), and India's SEP (significant economic presence) test, to name but a few(仅举几例). At the same time, the European Union, Spain, Britain and several other countries have all seriously contemplated(打算;考虑) digital services taxes.

4.These unilateral developments differ in their specifics, but they are all designed to tax multinationals on income and revenue that countries believe they should have a right to tax, even if international tax rules do not grant(准予) them that right. In other words, they all share a view that the international tax system has failed to keep up with(跟上)the current economy.

5.In response to(回应)these many unilateral measures, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is currently working with 131 countries to reach a consensus(共识;一致看法) by the end of 2020 on an international solution. Both France and the United States are involved in the organization's work, but France's digital services tax and the American response raise(提出) questions about what the future holds(将来会发生什么事情) for the international tax system.

6.France's planned tax is a clear warning: Unless a broad consensus can be reached on reforming the international tax system. other nations are likely to follow suit(效仿), and American companies will face a cascade of(大量;许多) different taxes from dozens of nations that will prove burdensome(成为负担的；令人烦恼的) and costly(昂贵的).　　

sanctions /ˈsæŋkʃnz/n. 制裁；处罚（sanction的复数）；制发 v. 批准；对…实行制裁；赞许（sanction的三单形式）

Alphabet soup is made of vegetables and noodles in the shape of letters of the alphabet. In a bowl all the letters are mixed up, and when you scoop up a spoonful you never know what you are going to get. So it means a jumble of many things.

differ in不同在；在…方面存在不同

cascade /kæˈskeɪd/n. 小瀑布，瀑布状物；串联  vi. 像瀑布般大量倾泻下来  vi. 像瀑布般悬挂着

Corporate gender quotas reinforce privilege