Two things I wonder about: first are these fines actually going to happen or is the sort of thing where it gets appealed indefinitely. And second, where do the fines go? It sounds a lot like since Ireland is where Tiktok is getting fined the fines go to the Irish government which would seem crazy. The fines are assessed in the context of the full EU, but only Ireland gets the revenue? This is broken.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the income from the money eventually flows into the overall EU budget, so it's like we (EU residents) get a tiny rebate on our taxes. But seems to also depend on each country, Spain is somewhat unique in that the DPA seems to keep it themselves.
You are partly wrong, the money from fines eventually flows into the overall EU budget, which is financed by contributions from member countries, so this contribution will be a bit lower, but this will not propagate into lower taxes for us.
> this will not propagate into lower taxes for us.
Yeah, sorry if I was unclear, I didn't mean that residents would literally have a line item on their tax bill because of the fines. But since the fines go into the overall budget, it's like the budget grows (in a very small amount) without people having higher taxes.
>> so it's like we (EU residents) get a tiny rebate on our taxes.
Don't know specifically about this scenario, but I've never seen a government's general revenues account treated like this. Governments rarely pay "dividends" - unless you're a targeted voting block they decide to go after.
The EU, specifically, essentially runs a balanced budget, so increased revenue from stuff other than member state contributions will reduce the required member state contributions. Of course how each member state funds those and what it does with them if they get cheaper is up to that member state.
"On corporate structure specifically, there is a misconception that TikTok UK is a subsidiary of ByteDance's operations in China. This is not the case. TikTok UK is owned by global parent company ByteDance Ltd, incorporated in the Cayman Islands"
.. now, everyone talks about China as a global enemy of freedom and accountability, but I think Grand Cayman is underestimated as a bad actor or protector thereof.
