Digital Tax Competition: International Power Competition and Global Governance Dilemma in the Digital Economy Era
Abstract
unilateral digital services taxes (DSTs) has transformed from a fiscal issue into a core arena for major-power strategic competition and global
governance contestation. The emergence of unilateral DSTs is fundamentally driven by power asymmetry in the digital economy, the obsolescence of traditional international tax rules, and insufficient supply of multilateral governance mechanisms. The institutional confrontation,
trade retaliation and rule-making rivalry between the United States and Europe over digital taxation vividly reflect the conflicting interests
between market jurisdictions and capital-exporting states, as well as institutional competition between hegemonic powers and regional blocs in
the digital age. Unilateral taxation measures have intensified the fragmentation of international tax rules, eroded multilateral coordination frameworks, exacerbated conflicts of tax jurisdiction and economic frictions, and plunged global digital governance into serious disorder. Only by
returning to the multilateral framework and restructuring the allocation rules of digital taxation rights can major-power tensions be mitigated, the
international economic order be stabilized, and institutional support be provided for the sustainable development of the global digital economy.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/frim.v4i5.9400
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