China, U.S. Could be Allies in Global Digital Tax Reform Talks

The U.S. and China’s interests are aligned when it comes to digital taxation, potentially influencing international tax reform talks, a former OECD tax chief said Friday.

The world’s largest two economies both host internet giants, including Alibaba Group, Amazon.com, Baidu, and Facebook, meaning they “have almost exactly the same interests” in relation to digital taxation, said Jeffrey Owens, who was previously head of tax policy at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

• Washington has argued that digital levies and taxes paid where profits are earned would unfairly penalize U.S. companies. By contrast, the European Union, where many of ...