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G7 Summit 2019 : France, U.S. Strike Compromise on Digital Tax

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The 45th G7 summit just took place in France and became the centre of discussion for various reasons. One of the reasons being the meeting between Indian PM Narendra Modi and Trump as well as the rejection of $20 million aid for stopping the Amazon forest fire by Brazil. But one of the main agenda that was sorted out at the summit was the controversial French Digital Tax.

During the conference at the G7 summit, President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron announced that they have agreed on finding a way to put a fair tax on the big foreign tech companies operating in France. But until the OECD does not set some proper tax guidelines, France will retain the same digital tax.

Macron also admitted that the controversy based on the new taxes has also affected the business of the French wine in the U.S. He also admitted that it has become expensive for big companies like Facebook and Google to operate their business in France.

France G7 Summit
Image Source: cbs42.com

The 134 OECD countries have been working towards establishing a new set of rules for the tech companies to operate in foreign countries, and France promised at the G7 summit that it would remove its digital tax asap OECD will finalise the new rules. The announcement also indicated that the rules may arrive as soon as 2020.

In July, France imposed new digital tax for the big foreign tech companies operating in the country. The digital tax is based on the local profits rather than the global revenues those companies earn. According to French digital tax the companies that make over a €25 million (around $27.7 million) in France, or €750 million (around $830 million) worldwide, will need to pay an extra 3% tax to the French government. This way, the GAFA companies, i.e. Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon (all the U.S. based companies) are becoming the main targets of France.

But after the agreement, the Tax Authority of France will look on the taxes that those companies have paid and the taxes they will pay under France’s digital tax policy. It will also calculate the amount these companies will be paying after OECD establishes the new tax rules for them. Concluding the extra paid tax, the French government will reimburse the extra amount back to those companies.

“Everything that is paid in excess compared to the international solution will be credited to the company,” said the French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire.

The new agreement will help the two companies to reduce the tension as well as the trade conflict between them.

Waiting for the Whatsapp Dark Mode? Get it on Android, iOS Smartphones Before the Release

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The dark mode on Whatsapp has been in a buzz for at least a year now, and there have also been a few leaks about the features that the dark mode from Whatsapp will possess. The Whatsapp’s owner company Facebook has already provided the dark mode or the night mode for Facebook Messenger, and soon it will be available for all the Whatsapp users too.

Whatsapp dark mode
Image Source: cnbctv18.com

Though the dark mode for Whatsapp has still not been launched officially, the company has provided a way to get the beta version of dark mode, before it will be released for the general public.

The first condition to get the Whatsapp’s dark mode on an Android smartphone or the iPhone is to get the latest Android Q on an Android phone and iOS11 or the latest version of iOS on the iPhone. So, this is clear that a lot of people will not be able to enjoy the new dark mode at least for some more time.

Android Q is still in beta which is also available for only a few Android smartphones, including Google Pixel 2, 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, OnePlus 6T, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, LG G8, Nokia 8.1, Oppo Reno, Realme 3 Pro, Sony Xperia XZ3, Vivo X27, Vivo Nex S, Nex A, Xiaomi Mi 9, Mi Mix 3 5G, Essential Phone, Asus 6Z.

So who are among the owners of mentioned phones or the ones who can get the Android Q on their Android phones, can follow the steps below to get the dark mode on their Whatsapp:

  • Go to the Settings of the phone and select Display from the list.
  • In the Display settings, select the Theme option and then Dark.
  • Again you need to go to the Settings under which you need to select About Phone option.
  • Now tap on the Build Number seven times in order to activate Developer Mode.
  • As the Developer Mode has been activated, go to the Developer Option and then tap on Override Force Dark.

Now the dark mode will be activated on every single app on your phone. Though after enabling the dark mode, you will need to change the background wallpaper of your Whatsapp to make the dark mode completely enabled.

To get the dark mode for the Whatsapp on the iPhones, you need to take the following steps:

  • Go to the Setting and select General.
  • Under the General settings, select Accessibility and then Display Accommodations.
  • Here you will find the Invert Colours option, under which you need to select Smart Invert.

This way, you will get the dark mode for the Whatsapp on iPhone. Though you still need to change the wallpaper in order to get the dark mode completely.

The sparkling AMOLED displays in smartphones are clearer but brighter. There are only a few people who reduce the brightness of their phone while using it. Getting dark mode on the phones will help people with their vision, that is at risk because of their increased screen time. In fact, Apple has also included a dark mode in its latest iOS13.

Facebook Opens Up About Libra its New Cryptocurrency Project

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Only over ten days ago, an article from ‘The Information’ talked about Facebook’s rumoured cryptocurrency project, ‘Libra’, and today, the company has come out in open to announce that it will be launching its own cryptocurrency by the first half of 2020.

The biggest social network company, Facebook Inc., revealed on Tuesday, that it is ready to launch its cryptocurrency in 2020, in order to move its focus from social media to eCommerce and online payments.

libra cryptocurrency
Image Source: fortune.com

The company reported that the new cryptocurrency won’t be a speculative asset, like Bitcoin or the other major cryptocurrencies, but will be a type of digital currency, as stable as the dollar, that people will be able to use for normal expenditures or to transfer money globally.

According to one of the spokespersons from Facebook, the company aims to establish Libra as the first mainstream cryptocurrency, by offering people to pay for online as well as offline services through it. In the beginning, Libra will support online money transfer for the countries that lack traditional banking facilities. And, after some time, it will be used for day-to-day transactions.

Along with the cryptocurrency, the company is also working on its subsidiary, Calibra, a digital wallet, that will be used for the online transactions through the cryptocurrency. According to the company, Libra will be backed by the reserve of assets. Also, the new cryptocurrency will have its own new blockchain platform.

Facebook is excited about Libra but has also got the regulatory concerns. It has been facing backlashes from its users and the regulatory authorities due to the data breaches alligations it holds. A cryptocurrency from a company which has been responsible for these hacks and breaches is quite questionable for the lawmakers and the regulators.

The company has already in talks with the regulators in the United States, Europe and from the other countries, about the launch of its own cryptocurrency. And, these regulators are also going in depth of the announced project from Facebook to get to know more about it. Since it is not purely a cryptocurrency, many of these regularities doubt its privacy.

Facebook revealed that it has partnered with the Geneva-based association Libra for the development of its cryptocurrency. The organisation have been founded by some major companies from around the world, including Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, eBay, Uber, Lyft, Spotify, Coinbase, Xapo, Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, Mercy Corps, and Women’s World Banking, along with Facebook. So these companies will also be playing a crucial role in decisions to be taken for Libra.

G20 to Double their Efforts in Wrapping Up the Digital Tax by 2020

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Facebook, Google, Amazon, Uber, these are some of the top tech giants that are working globally, and in the past few years, questions have been raised on the tax these companies have been cutting off by shifting to low tax countries. The financial authorities of the developed countries have always seen this as an unfair move, as they earn complete profits but pay lesser tax.

G20
Image Source: middleeastmonitor.com

To resolve this problem, the finance ministers of the G20 countries have finally agreed on imposing new rules on those tech companies, such that they will now pay taxes based on their profits and in which countries they are serving, instead of where they are based.

G20 is an international organisation, comprising of world’s 19 biggest economies and the Europian Union, making a total of 47 countries, that works towards economic stability.

Reuters reported the news first, through a draft communique obtained by the former, according to which, the G20 companies will compile common rules to close the loopholes for the tech companies. Though the low tax had been beneficial for small countries to attract international tech giants.

The new rules will include a two-pillar approach. According to the first pillar, the tax will be based on two things, what are the services or goods that the companies will be providing and where these companies are operating. The second pillar will impose a minimum tax rate on every company, such that even the services are moved to another country, the basic tax will be the same.

“We welcome the recent progress on addressing the tax challenges arising from digitization and endorse the ambitious program that consists of a two-pillar approach. We will redouble our efforts for a consensus-based solution with a final report by 2020.” stated the draft communique.

For the support of the agreement, countries like France and Britain have been quite supportive as the tech giants strategically pay lesser tax in those countries. But upon this, the U.S. based companies have also raised the concern of being most targeted by the European countries.

The finalisation of the rules for the taxes to be imposed on the global tech companies is still under process. But according to the reports, G20 will release the final report on the new rules in 2020.

Facebook May Come Out with its New Digital Currency this Month

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Cryptocurrency is the current hot topic, and how, one of the biggest tech giant, Facebook, could resist itself from trying its hands on cryptocurrency. Though it has already developed its own Blockchain platform, now after much of rumours, finally, the company is prepping up to introduce its own cryptocurrency, GlobalCoin, this month.

Reported by The Information, Facebook is working on its first cryptocurrency project, ‘Libra’, that will bring a digital currency that would work internationally, providing the Facebook users with the facility to make purchases and transfer money across the borders, online.

Facebook, initially, will be using those crypto tokens to pay the employees working on Libra projects, if they choose tokens over fiat currency for the payments. Also, it will be the marketplace of the developing countries that Facebook will be targeting with its new cryptocurrency. It will also be offering bonuses for those merchants who would adopt Facebook’s digital currency for their transactions. The crypto from Facebook will also be integrated to use with Facebook’s other arms, like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, etc.

Facebook is already working towards integrating eCommerce to its current ventures, and in F8, its annual tech conference, the company introduced new eCommerce features, like users’ ability to buy goods directly from their favourite influencers, businesses to put up their product catalogues on WhatsApp, and letting the Facebook marketplace sellers ship their products through the Facebook app. Now, as Facebook is to bring its own cryptocurrency, this can be another move for the company in the same regard.

The company will charge the third party marketers with a fee of $10 million for the licensing to run a node for the GlobalCoin network. The company is planning to test the crypto at a global level by the end of 2018, and it will be launching the same, in 2020, in a dozen selected countries.

Instagram is Killing its Standalone Messaging App ‘Direct’ Only After Two years of its Inception

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instagram direct app
Image Source: marketingland.com

Facebook is going forward on the way to integrating most of its apps, and after its announcement of bringing chat back to the Facebook app, the company is now planning to kill the Instagram’s standalone Direct app.

Instagram revealed that by the next month, it will pull off the support for its direct messaging app. But the Instagrammers doesn’t have to worry about their messages, as the platform will migrate all the messages from the Direct app to the Instagram app DMs.

With the launch of Direct app in 2017, Facebook and Instagram both were up to adding new features and making it a standalone messaging app to stand against rivals like Snapchat. Similar to the Snapchat app, the Direct app opens with a camera. In fact, after logging in to the Direct app, the DM feature also disappears from the Instagram app.

But as a step of Facebook in the way of consolidating all its major apps, now Direct will have to face a young death. Instead, all the features it possesses will be merged into the DM feature of Instagram.

The company has already stopped providing updates to both the versions of the app. The latest update that the Android app had received was in April, whereas the iOS app had received the latest update in December last year.

The users have been receiving messages from the company about the closure of the app, upon which, a Direct user Matt Navarra, posted a tweet in a thread, saying, “Confirmed: Instagram is killing its standalone Direct Messaging app.” Upon which Instagram also posted a tweet, “Your conversations will automatically move over to Instagram, so you don’t need to do anything.”

Shutting down the Direct app might not be a big deal for either company as the app has failed in gaining as many users as Instagram has. In fact, the Instagram app’s DM feature has been a source of business promotion for many, and it is way more popular than Direct app despite having lesser features than the Direct app.