Taxation of the digital economy

Digitalizacija je v svet ponesla četrto industrijsko revolucijo. Visoka mobilnost, neopredmetena sredstva, pomanjkanje fizične prisotnosti in klasičnih oblik stalnih poslovnih enot so le nekatere izmed dilem, ki so zakonodajalce postavili pred vprašanje, ali se z novostmi spopadati posamično ali problematiko urediti celostno. Paleta novih poslovnih modelov kot tudi digitalizacija že obsoječih, je tehtnico nagibala v prid sprejetju celostne mednarodne rešitve. EU in OECD predstavljata dve glavni gonilni sili na področju razvoja novih davčnih ukrepov za pravično mednarodno obdavčitev digitalnega gospodarstva. Posebej pravila EU pri prilagoditvi obračunavanja DDV kažejo na nujnost hitre prilagoditve sistema obdavčitve za digitalno gospodarstvo. Evropska komisija je v želji po prilagoditvi novim razmeram na evropskem trgu predlagala sveženj za pravično obdavčitev digitalnega gospodarstva, s katerim bi začasno obdavčili dohodke od nekaterih digitalnih storitev, trajneje pa bi se oblikoval nov koncept pomembne digitalne prisotnosti. Neuspeh obeh predlaganih ukrepov je vodil v zastoj urejanja predmetne problematike na ravni EU. Dogovor, dosežen pod okriljem OECD, prestavlja prvi večji korak k spremembi tradicionalnih mednarodnih davčnih pravil. Projekt BEPS je vodil do prvih idejnih rešitev in nazadnje dejanskih predlogov, izmed katerih se je konsenz dosegel s predlogom, ki je razdeljen na dva dela. Prvi steber zajema razširitev pooblastil držav za obdavčitev dobičkov podjetij, ki poslujejo v njihovi državi, vendar tam nimajo fizične prisotnosti. Hkrati bo uvedba prvega stebra ukinila vse sprejete enostranske ukrepe držav. Drugi steber globalnega davčnega dogovora uvaja najnižjo efektivno davčno stopnjo 15 odstotkov ter vključuje tri pravila za dosego tega cilja – pravilo vključitve dohodka (income inclusion rule), pravilo premalo obdavčenega dobička (under-taxed profits rule) in pravilo podvrženosti obdavčitvi (subject to tax rule). Vendar pa je bila pot do sprememb na mednarodnem nivoju dolga, kar je zakonodajalce in teoretike vodilo v iskanje enostranskih rešitev predmetne problematike. Tako so se v praksi kot teoriji pojavile oblike obdavčitve, vendar pa se enostransko urejanje problematike v praksi ni izkazalo kot učinkovito, saj se strošek prepogosto enostavno prenese na končnega uporabnika. Nova pravila, dogovorjena v sklopu globalnega davčnega dogovora, ciljajo na ustavitev dirke proti dnu v mednarodnem davčnem pravu za namene. Skušalo se bo omejiti davčno načrtovanje in povečati efektivne davčne stopnje, predvsem v jurisdikcijah z nizko stopnjo obdavčitve.Digitalization has brought forth the fourth industrial revolution to the world. High mobility, intangible assets, lack of physical presence and classic forms of permanent establishment are just some of the dilemmas that have faced legislators with the question of whether to deal with innovations individually or to regulate the issue holistically. The range of new business models as well as the digitalization of already existing ones, has tilted the scales in favor of the adoption of a comprehensive international solution. The EU and the OECD are the two main driving forces in the development of new tax measures for fair international taxation of the digital economy. In particular, the EU rules on the adjustment of the calculation of the VAT indicate the necessity of a quick adjustment of the taxation system for the digital economy. In order to adapt to the new conditions on the European market, the European Commission has proposed a package for the fair taxation of the digital economy, which would temporarily tax income from certain digital services, while a concept of significant digital presence would be formed more permanently. The failure of the two proposed measures led to a deadlock in the regulation of the issue in question on the EU level. The agreement reached under the auspices of the OECD represents the first major step towards changing traditional international tax rules. The BEPS project led to the first conceptual solutions and finally to the actual proposals, from which a consensus was reached with a proposal that is divided into two parts. The first pillar covers extending the powers of countries to tax profits of companies that do business in their country but do not have a physical presence there. At the same time, the introduction of the first pillar will abolish all unilateral measures taken by countries. The second pillar of the global tax agreement introduces the minimum effective tax rate of 15%, and includes three rules to achieve this goal: the income inclusion rule, the under-taxed profits rule and the subject to tax rule. However, the path to changes at the international level was long, which led legislators and academics to search for unilateral solution to the issue in question. Thus, new forms of taxation have emerged, however, the unilateral regulation of the issue has not proven to be effective in practice, as the cost is too often simply passed on to the end user. The new rules, agreed as part of the global tax agreement, aim to stop the race to the bottom in international tax law. It will try to limit tax planning and increase effective tax rates, especially in jurisdictions with a low level of taxation