Why Again Do We Still Have a Special Relationship With the Tyrannical UK?
Remember Those Two Jordanians Who Tried to Infiltrate a Marine Corps Base? Well…
Is There Trouble Ahead for Pete Hegseth?
Celebrate Diversity (Or Else)!
Journos Now Believe the Liar Trump When Convenient, and Did Newsweek Provide the...
To Vet or Not to Vet
Trump: From 'Fascist' to 'Let's Do Lunch'
Newton's Third Law of Politics
Religious Belief and the 2024 Election
Restoring American Strength and Security with Trump’s Cabinet Picks
Linda McMahon to Education May Choke Foreign Influence Operations on Campus
Unburden Us From the Universities
Watch Jasmine Crockett Go On Rant About White People Over the Abolishment of...
Texas Hands Over Massive Plot of Land to Trump for Deportations
Scott Jennings Offers Telling Points on Democrats' Losses With Young Men
OPINION

When It Comes to Tech Policy, Biden and Harris Put America Last

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File

The Wall Street Journal noted last week that American shareholders will lose tens of billions of dollars in investment income from their stock holdings in Silicon Valley companies like Google and Apple if several European Union sham lawsuits prevail.

Advertisement

These are generally suits alleging that America's dominant tech companies are acting like monopolists. Or, to borrow a term, our tech companies are "price gouging." Many of these companies are now above $2 trillion in their market cap. Every pension fund in America expands in size and benefits paid out to workers when these companies expand.

The EU's courts outrageously ruled this week that Apple shareholders owe Europe 13.5 billion euros in back taxes because the company took advantage of Ireland's low 12.5% tax rate. The EU "competition chief" declared that this sham court decision "is a big win for European citizens and tax justice." No, it's a big win for big government.

Meanwhile, Google shareholders are now forced to pay the EU $2.7 billion because its search engine has become dominant in the European market. The European search engines are so inferior that nobody wants to use them. So, sue American companies.

Let's be clear here: The EU laggards are simply green with envy. The Eurozone has been crushed by American tech dominance. No company in socialist Europe has found a way to compete with American innovation at Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta and so on. Since they can't compete, they invent sore-loser lawsuits.

That's what the losers in sports from junior high school on always pout about: The other side didn't play fair.

Advertisement

The bigger issue is why the Biden administration isn't defending American companies from European extortion. These tech lawsuits are a tax on American knowhow and innovation.

Instead of defending American shareholders from the EU predators, the Biden regulators encourage and give legitimacy to the foreign courts.

How can the U.S. government complain against specious antitrust attacks (tech prices are falling dramatically) against Google and Apple when our own regulators at the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department are bringing copycat lawsuits against our tech giants in U.S. courts? Lina Khan of the FTC has spent nearly four years peppering our tech industry leaders with nuisance lawsuits of her own.

The capricious fine against Google is a result of an American company shopping around the globe to find the lowest tax climate (Ireland) for doing business. This is illegal? Our corporate tax rate thanks to the Trump tax cut is now 21%, down from 35% under former President Barack Obama. But President Joe Biden and now presidential candidate Kamala Harris want to raise it back up to 28% or more. That only encourages more jobs and investment to move offshore. Did I mention that Ireland's rate is just 12.5%?

Instead of lowering the rates here, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wants to force Ireland and other low-tax countries to raise their rates to a global minimum tax of 15% or more. This sounds a lot like collusion and cartel policy. It's like telling Kellogg's they can't charge less than $3 a box for Special K as a way to compete with Cocoa Krispies.

Advertisement

Similarly, the antitrust lawsuits from Europe and Washington aimed at American tech companies are spurious because nearly every price for tech services -- from cellphones to drone deliveries to internet searches to fiber optic hookups -- has been falling. How are consumers getting gouged if they keep paying less for new technologies?

There's an old saying in sports: no harm, no foul.

I often don't like the politics of Big Tech. But the end result of what Washington is doing to penalize American tech giants for building a better mousetrap is to move the high-tech hubs of the world -- from Silicon Valley to Austin to Boston to Miami -- to competitor nations. That's a good way to lose jobs and put America last.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos