Taxing intangible assets in Europe

The globalisation of the digital economy is indicative of a changing multidimensional paradigm driven by a number of factors: the primacy of intangible assets in value creation; a growing transnational and international dimension in the production and consumption of goods and services; the transition from human labour to artificial intelligence; the increasing dominance of networks of stakeholders over individual players; the emergence of new forms of sharing, creation, collaboration and innovation; and the need to harmonise rules, standards and policies (including in the area of taxation) within a multilateral framework.
In a competitive geopolitical environment, the EU, characterised by disparities between its Member States and sometimes opposing national interests, is some way behind China and the uncontested leader of the digital pack, the United States. But Europe can carve out a place for itself alongside these digital giants, since it outperforms its competitors in some sectors of the DSM. These include the production of digital services (the main driver of digital globalisation) and the digital consumption of financial operations.