欧洲五国财长对美国税改计划发出警告
欧洲五个最大经济体的财长警告特朗普(Trump)政府称，美国共和党的减税计划将违反国际协议并损害贸易，可能使一场华盛顿的政策斗争演变为大西洋两岸的争端。
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.
在写给美国白宫和美国财政部的信中，欧洲五国财长——包括英国财政大臣菲利普•哈蒙德(Philip Hammond)、德国财长彼得•阿尔特迈尔(Peter Altmaier)和法国财长布鲁诺•勒梅尔(Bruno Le Maire)——提出，如果美国将相关议案变成法律，他们可能会采取报复性措施。
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.
这封信突显欧洲担忧特朗普政府将以税改为由，推动“美国优先”的歧视性贸易做法，使得双方在环境、中东和平等其他政策领域已然升温的紧张关系进一步加剧。
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.
五位财长坚称不想干预美国的国内税收辩论，他们称这是“一国主权的基本支柱”之一。然而，这封信警告美国财长史蒂文•姆努钦(Steven Mnuchin)称，华盛顿方面不应假借推行反避税措施，实际上却开启贸易争端。
“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.
他们写道：“我们深怀担忧，美国是否要通过那些并非针对滥用安排的措施来完成(保护其税基的行动)，因为这将影响真正的商业活动。”
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.
除了姆努钦，这封信还寄给了白宫最高经济顾问加里•科恩(Gary Cohn)以及美国国会一些委员会的负责人，这些委员会正进行磋商，以将参议院和众议院各自通过的税收法案统一起来。这些委员会负责人的目标是在年内将最终版本的法案提交给总统签署。意大利财长皮耶•卡洛•帕多安(Pier Carlo Padoan)和西班牙财长克里斯托瓦尔•蒙托罗(Cristóbal Montoro)也在这封信上签了名。
“We appreciate the views of the finance ministers,” said a US Treasury spokesperson. “We are closely working with Congress as they finalise the legislation.”
“我们了解这些财长们的观点，”美国财政部一发言人表示，“我们正与国会密切合作，他们正在敲定该法案。”
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.
美国税改计划中所有让欧洲国家不满的措施都将把美国业务与海外公司的业务区别对待，财长们表示这些规定将违反国际税收准则。
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，根据众议院版法案中的一项“销售税”(excise tax)规定，美国公司向它们的海外子公司采购将被课税20%，但如果是境内的类似交易就不用缴纳此税。信中写道，这“可能会造成歧视，与国际规则相抵触”。
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.
另外两个因素涉及参议院版法案，其中一个条款规定，当美国出口商从品牌和其他无形资产中获取利润时，对它们的税收将更优惠。这封信辩称这项措施可能“被质疑为非法出口补贴”——可以说，欧洲这是在几乎不加掩饰地发出报复威胁。
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.
参议院版法案的其他措施将是对跨国银行和保险公司内部美国和欧洲业务之间的汇款总额征税，而不管跨大西洋资金流动余额。
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”.
美国一些税务学者认同欧洲的某些批评，他们最近发表一项分析报告认为，销售税和资金流动措施“可能违反WTO规则，并让人担忧税收协定”。
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”.
一位法国财政部官员表示，这封信是“参与辩论的一种方式，以确保他们认真对待我们的关切”，之所以迅速组织起来是因为“较不正式的东西没有真正奏效”。
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.”
德国代理财长阿尔特迈尔表示：“美国是我们的盟友，它有权以其认为合适的方式制定税收制度。但它必须遵守业已生效的国际规则。”
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.”
美国参议院金融委员会一位发言人在回应关于参议院版法案中“税基侵蚀和反滥用税”(base erosion and anti-abuse tax)条款的评论时表示：“该税制适用于受美国税法约束的国内外公司，并效仿长期以来的公司最低税额。我们进行了研究和审查，它符合包括WTO协定在内的国际标准。”
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.
早在奥巴马(Obama)担任美国总统期间，欧洲和美国就围绕税收问题爆发了一系列争论，欧洲财长们的这封信只是这些争论的最新进展。
Then-President Barack Obama publicly complained about European Commission actions targeting American tech groups for “sweetheart” tax agreements with several low-tax EU countries.
时任美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)公开抱怨过欧盟委员会(European Commission)针对美国科技集团与数个低税收欧盟国家达成的“甜心”税收协定采取的措施。
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针对苹果(Apple)的，后者被布鲁塞尔要求向爱尔兰支付130亿欧元的欠税，但欧盟委员会也针对在卢森堡的亚马逊(Amazon)和在荷兰的星巴克(Starbucks)发起了类似的案件。
Additional reporting by Vanessa Houlder in London and Guy Chazan in Berlin
瓦妮莎•霍德尔(Vanessa Houlder)伦敦和盖伊•查赞(Guy Chazan)柏林补充报道
