美国国家公共电台 NPR 七国集团就全球最低企业税率达成一致

The U.S. and six other wealthy countries are taking a big step towards raising taxes on multinational¹ corporations.

美国和其他六个富裕国家正在向对跨国公司增税迈出重大一步。

Finance ministers from the G-7 countries agreed over the weekend that corporations should pay a minimum tax rate of 15% no matter where they're located.

七国集团（简称G7）的财政部长在周末一致认为，无论公司位于何处，都应缴纳15%的最低税率。

Treasury² Secretary Janet Yellen calls that a historic achievement.

美国财政部长珍妮特·耶伦称这是一项历史性成就。

For too long, there has been a global race-to-the-bottom in corporate³ taxes,

太久以来，企业税一直在全球范围内逐底竞争，

where countries compete by lowering their tax rates instead of the well-being⁴ of their citizens and natural environments.

各国通过降低税率来竞争，而不是在本国公民的福祉和自然环境方面展开竞争。

Yellen and her colleagues also agreed to a higher tax on the most profitable international companies, including U.S. tech giants. But this is far from a done deal.

耶伦及其同事也同意对美国科技巨头等盈利最多的跨国公司征收更高的税收。但现在距离达成协议还有很远的路要走。

NPR's Scott Horsley is here to tell us more. Hey, Scott.

NPR新闻的斯科特·霍斯利将带来详细报道。你好，斯科特。

Hi, Mary Louise.

你好，玛丽·路易丝。

So what's the significance of this, of a global minimum tax on corporations?

设定全球最低企业税率有何意义？

Corporations' share of the overall tax burden around the world has been on the wane⁵ for years now.

企业税收在全球税收负担中所占的份额多年来一直在下降。

And it's been hard for politicians to push back because whenever they try to raise corporate taxes,

政治家很难反击，因为每当他们试图提高企业税时，

companies can take their money, perhaps their jobs, and move somewhere cheaper.

企业就会带走资金或就业岗位，迁址到更便宜的地方。

Steve Rosenthal, who's with the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center,

史蒂夫·罗森塔尔来自无党派组织税收政策中心，

says the Biden administration wants to diffuse⁶ that threat by getting other countries to set a floor on corporate taxes and agree not to go below that.

他表示，拜登政府希望消除这种威胁，方法是让其他国家对企业税设定下限，并同意税率不会低于这一下限。

Over the last few decades, one country after another dropped its tax rates on corporations with the hope of enticing⁷ more business.

过去数十年，一个国家接一个国家地降低企业税率，希望这样能吸引更多企业。

Biden would like to reverse that, but that only can be effective to the extent that the U.S. doesn't face competition from abroad.

拜登希望扭转这种局面，但这只有在美国不面临来自国外竞争的情况下才有效。

So this agreement, if it comes to pass, would be a big deal. It would make it easier for President Biden to raise corporate taxes.

如果协议获得通过，就会成为一件大事。这将使拜登总统更容易提高企业税。

And right now corporations pay a much smaller share of the total tax bill in the U.S. than they do in most of our foreign competitors.

现在，企业税收在美国税收总额中所占的比例要比在我们大多数外国竞争对手中所占的比例要小得多。

Let me push you on the if-it-comes-to-pass portion of what you just told us. It's not a done deal. What else has to happen?

请你解释一下刚才所说的“如果协议获得通过”是什么意思。还有什么事要发生？

That's right. So far, you have buy-in from seven countries. That's a big step, but that doesn't include China. It doesn't include India.

好。截至目前，七个国家已达成一致。这是重要的一步，但这些国家中不包括中国。也不包括印度。

It doesn't include tax havens⁸ like Ireland, which has a corporate tax rate of just 12.5%.

也没有爱尔兰这样的避税天堂，爱尔兰的企业税率只有12.5%。

Now, Secretary Yellen says you don't necessarily need to get all those countries on board, but you do need more than just the seven that have agreed so far.

耶伦部长表示，不必让所有这些国家都参与进来，但目前只有七个国家达成一致意见并不够。

So the next step will be to raise this tax plan with a group of 20 countries that are set to meet next month.

因此，下一步将是与二十国集团一起提高这个税收计划，这些国家将于下个月举行会议。

This effort is far from over, and we look forward to engaging closely with the G-20.

这项努力远未结束，我们期待与二十国集团（简称G20）密切接触。

At the same time, I look forward to taking the momentum⁹ we have achieved and working closely with members of Congress on this important initiative.

同时，我期待保持我们已取得的势头，就这一重要倡议与国会成员密切合作。

And, of course, Mary Louise, it's Congress that would actually set tax policy for the U.S.

当然，玛丽·路易丝，美国负责制定税收政策的是国会。

That could be a tough sell for the administration as well, given Republicans' opposition¹⁰ to higher taxes and the Democrats¹¹' razor-thin majorities in Congress.

但鉴于共和党反对提高税收，而且民主党在国会中只占微弱多数席位，这对政府来说可能很难推行。

Indeed. Well, let me turn to the other piece of this.

的确。下面我想谈谈这另一件事。

Part of this G-7 deal seems designed to prevent another trade war, a war over digital taxes. Explain that.

这项七国集团协议的部分内容似乎旨在防止另一场贸易战，一场关于数字税的战争。请解释一下。

That's right. Big tech companies like Facebook and Amazon have billions of customers around the world. They're making a lot of money around the world.

没错。脸谱网和亚马逊等大型科技公司在全球拥有数十亿客户。这些公司在世界各地都赚了很多钱。

And a number of countries, mostly in Europe, want a slice of those profits, so some of those countries have been threatening to levy¹² taxes on big digital companies.

而一些国家，大部分是欧洲国家，希望从中获得一部分利润，因此，其中有些国家一直威胁要对大型数字公司征税。

And the U.S. says, wait a minute; that's not fair because all the companies that would be targeted by such attacks just happen to be located in the United States.

美国则表示，等一下；这不公平，因为所有这些攻击针对的公司都恰好位于美国。

Yeah.

是的。

The Biden administration, like the Trump¹³ administration before it, threatened to retaliate¹⁴ with additional tariffs¹⁵ on those other countries' exports.

拜登政府采取了和之前的特朗普政府同样的做法，即威胁要对其他国家的出口产品加征关税进行报复。

So what the G-7 agreed to do instead is impose a broader tax, not just on tech companies but any of the most profitable multinationals¹⁶,

因此，七国集团同意的是，不仅对技术公司，也要对所有盈利最为丰厚的跨国公司征收更广泛的税收，

and then distribute the proceeds to all the countries where those companies do business.

之后将所得分配给这些公司经营业务的所有国家。

Once again, this part of the deal would need buy-in from a lot more countries and from Congress, but it might prevent another trade war.

这一部分协议也需要得到更多国家和国会的认可，但这可能会阻止另一场贸易战。

A Facebook vice¹⁷ president called it a significant step and said the company wants the reform method to succeed, even if it means Facebook winds up paying more.

一名脸谱网副总裁称这是重要举措，并表示，公司希望改革方法取得成功，即使这意味着脸谱网最终要支付更多税收。

Thank you, Scott.

谢谢你，斯科特。

You're welcome.

不客气。

NPR's Scott Horsley — and Facebook, by the way, provides financial support to NPR.

以上是NPR新闻的斯科特·霍斯利带来的报道，顺便说一下，脸谱网为NPR新闻提供财政支持。

1 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

5 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

6 diffuse   

v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的

参考例句：

• Direct light is better for reading than diffuse light.直射光比漫射光更有利于阅读。
• His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point.他的谈话漫无边际，我抓不住他的要点。

7 enticing   

adj.迷人的；诱人的

参考例句：

• The offer was too enticing to refuse. 这提议太有诱惑力，使人难以拒绝。
• Her neck was short but rounded and her arms plump and enticing. 她的脖子短，但浑圆可爱；两臂丰腴，也很动人。

8 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

9 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

13 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

14 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

15 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

16 multinationals   

跨国公司( multinational的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These local companies are only small fry compared with the huge multinationals. 同那些跨国公司比，这些当地的公司不过是小鱼小虾。
• Some people believe that the multinationals have too much power. 有人认为跨国公司的权力太大了。

17 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。