Go-Ahead > Tax The Top-Feeders

They have been gorging, guzzling-on-data, extracting billions all along the way. France is the first country to tax. Who's next?
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Calls to rein in the tech titans are getting louder

The big five technology firms have spent billions buying rivals in recent years

"ON JULY 16th America’s House Judiciary Committee will summon representatives from four of the five big tech firms for a hearing entitled
"Online Platforms and Market Power: Part 2”.

The question at hand is whether the big technology firms are using their clout to crush their rivals and stifle competition. Witnesses can expect a grilling from all sides. Although American policymakers are more polarised than ever, their fondness for tech-bashing is remarkably bipartisan.
Growing antitrust scrutiny stems in part from the sheer size of the tech firms. The big five—Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft—are cumulatively valued at $4.2trn, representing one-seventh of America’s total stockmarket value. Over the past 12 months they have amassed $180bn in pre-tax profits, equivalent to roughly a tenth of all profits generated by American publicly-traded companies.
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