Pushing for tax fairness in a digital world

Every two days, a unicorn is created. I’m referring, of course, not to the mythical animal but to the hugely successful startup companies that are less than 10 years old but worth more than $1 billion. When the term was coined in 2013, only 39 companies fit the bill. Today, this list has grown to 452 members.

What many of these unicorns have in common is that they are built on innovative business models powered by e-commerce, the sharing economy and digital tech. Collecting data from users around the world is often at the crux of their business plans.

Such companies also tend to be physically located in tech hubs such as Silicon Valley, London, or Beijing, although their users – and the value they generate – are global.

These companies can bring real poverty-reducing benefits by improving access to all sorts of services, ranging from education to transportation to banking. But they also generate complicated questions, especially around taxation.