The Lead Story
Trump Tariffs vs. Canada’s Digital Levy
The Big Picture: Digital services taxes are back on center stage after former U.S. President Donald Trump froze trade talks with Canada and threatened fresh tariffs over Ottawa’s pending levy on big tech profits.
The Details: Calling the proposed tax “a direct and blatant attack on our country,” Trump pulled the plug on negotiations and warned of retaliatory duties, The Guardian reports (full story). Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz called the move “transparent bullying” aimed at protecting U.S. tech giants. Facing the heat, Canada has quietly paused the levy—mirroring retreats already seen in New Zealand and India.
Why It Matters: The reaction was swift because dozens of countries are weighing similar digital taxes while OECD talks drag on. Stiglitz warns the concession could cost governments “billions they are rightly owed,” and tax pros worry it emboldens future tariff threats against sovereign tax policy.
Around the Tax World
- Tariffs ripple beyond North America. A new U.S. tariff regime is reshaping supply-chain math worldwide, according to a Crowe Oman briefing (Crowe). The firm says auditors should brace for “kaleidoscopic” origin rules and customs valuation challenges.
- Thailand’s crypto holiday—strings attached. Bangkok will waive capital-gains tax on crypto trades from 2025-2029—but only on SEC-licensed local exchanges (TradingView/Cointelegraph). Offshore traders get no love—and no protection from the country’s 70%-above-average scam rate.
- Africa rewrites mineral tax playbook. Nations from Congo to Rwanda are overhauling royalty rules to capture more value from critical raw materials, Bloomberg Law notes, citing Africa’s 30% share of global mineral reserves (Bloomberg Law).
- Nigeria, Netherlands refresh their tax treaty. Abuja kicked off talks to modernize a decades-old double-tax agreement days after President Tinubu signed the Tax Reform Bill (Daily Nigerian). FIRS chief Zacch Adedeji said the goal is to align with global anti-avoidance standards.
- U.S. law packs corporate-tax surprises. Grant Thornton’s alert flags “significant opportunities” in a just-signed bill that tweaks depreciation, R&D credits, and BEAT calculations (Grant Thornton).
Tax Stat of the Day
₦88.6 billion—the annual sum Africa loses to illicit financial flows, per UN estimates highlighted by Bloomberg Law. That’s money mineral-rich nations want to reclaim with tougher tax regimes.
Looking Ahead
All eyes now turn to the OECD’s October meeting—will Canada’s retreat slow momentum for a global digital tax deal, or galvanize other countries to press ahead on their own?
Prepared by MyTax - mytax.com.ng