Uber Russian Drivers Quit After Putin’s Tax on U.S. Tech Giants
- Kremlin levied 18% VAT on foreign web services from January
- Drivers don’t want to pay tax for Uber, deal with bureaucracy
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Uber Technologies Inc. has asked its Russian drivers to temporarily bear the load of a new tax charge, causing some of them quit to avoid paperwork and tax filings.
President Vladimir Putin signed a law in July to levy an 18 percent value-added tax on electronic goods and services provided by global internet giants starting in 2017. Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp. and Netflix Inc. are registered with Russia’s tax service, according to Vedomosti daily.