Instead of innovating themselves, Europeans trying to regulate US companies to death

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Stephen Moore

Envy is an ugly thing — one of the seven deadly sins.

The Europeans have long been dripping with jealousy that American firms dominate the tech sector — cell phones, search engines, social media platforms, AI and robotics.

As a consequence, the U.S. economy as measured by net worth is now 50 percent larger than Europe’s and even the residents of our poorest states like West Virginia have a higher income than the average European.

One reason: The United States innovates while Europe regulates. Instead of fixing their economies in Euroland, the EU bureaucrats want to kneecap America’s tech success stories with fines and lawsuits and regulatory barbed wire fences to keep American firms from competing on a level playing field.

A case in point is the rash of expensive antitrust lawsuits against Google search engines.

Even worse is that a few years ago the European Union enacted “the Digital Markets Act” under the guise of trying to “ensure contestable and fair markets in the digital sector.”

Whenever government officials talk about promoting “fairness,” it means they are looking for expanding their own power.

Under this Act, Europe’s regulators are seeking to rein in successful technology companies like Apple through a new regulatory principle called “interoperability.”

Interoperability calls for third-party developers throughout the world to be given access to Apple’s private operating systems — iOS and iPadOS. In this framework, Apple is treated like a public utility with features that can be leveraged by other companies.

This is a sore-loser concept. Apple is a highly dynamic company that has achieved its market-leading status by developing wildly popular trailblazing products.

The European regulations, could require iPhones to offer competitor products. This makes as much sense as requiring McDonalds to offer Burger King fries with their “happy meals.”

The iPhone amenities and apps are part of a package deal that have made these devices the most popular in the world with billions of customers. This hardly sounds like monopolistic behavior. For people who don’t like Apple’s aps, there are many other cell phone products, such as Galaxy that consumers can turn to made by T-Mobile, Google, or a handful made in China.

For all the talk about Apple’s monopoly, they now control slightly less than 20% of the global cell-phone market.

Yet Europe’s bureaucrats have declared that Apple cannot charge product developers who are given access to the company’s operating systems. It is like getting to ride the train for free.

Interoperability is a dangerous concept — especially when it comes to security and privacy. Apple places a premium on maintaining the integrity of its devices and protecting its users’ data. But there is no guarantee that third parties given unfettered access to the Apple platform will have the same high standards.

That is going to leave Europe’s users of Apple products at greater risk of getting hacked. The results could be “disastrous,” points out Dirk Auer of the International Center for Law and Economics. “Users’ identity could be leaked, their money stolen, and their data could be compromised.”

Social media companies that want access to Apple’s operating systems could also gain access to I-phone users’ data and information. Apple warns that outsiders could “read on a user’s device all of their messages and emails, see every phone call they make or receive, track every app that they use, scan all of their photos, look at their files and calendar events, log all of their passwords, and more.”

Even Apple doesn’t access this data in order to protect the privacy of their users.

The danger here is that if companies that spend billions of dollars innovating to build a better mousetrap can’t own and control their own products and reap the financial rewards, innovation will be stifled — in which case everyone loses. Sharing patented information with competitors in the name of “fairness” is a socialist idea that has rusted the Eurozone economy.

If Europe wants to get back in the tech game, EU bureaucrats should focus on what made these companies so successful in the first place — and then try to create a public policy environment that will foster innovative companies that can compete and win — rather than run to the courts for protection. Punishing the winners is a good way to keep producing losers.

In the meantime, let’s hope the incoming Trump regulators at the FTC and FCC and the Justice Department defend American companies against aggressive and hostile lawsuits to hobble our made-in-American companies. In other words, put America first and don’t let Europe take a bite out of our Apple.

Stephen Moore is a co-founder of Unleash Prosperity and a co-author of the new book: “The Trump Economic Miracle.”

Related Topics:#DailyCaller #StephenMoore DigitalMarketsAct EuropeanRegulations USTechInnovation

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Trump eyes end of capital gains tax in 2025

Published on April 7, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

In a historic announcement that rattled markets and reignited debate over tax policy, President Donald Trump revealed plans to eliminate the capital gains tax starting in 2025. The unprecedented move would allow Americans to retain all profits from asset sales—whether in stocks, real estate, or other investments. Supporters tout it as a bold pro-growth measure, while critics warn it may cause budget strain and market instability.

Key Details:

President Trump announced the elimination of capital gains tax effective 2025, describing it as a move to reward success and promote wealth-building.
Currently, capital gains are taxed at rates up to 20%, with additional surcharges for high earners.
The announcement caused a major rally across financial markets, though critics claim the change favors the wealthy and could disrupt the economy.

Diving Deeper:

At a press conference on Monday, President Trump laid out a sweeping proposal to eliminate the capital gains tax in its entirety, calling it a “long-overdue correction” to what he described as a punitive tax on prosperity. “Why should you be punished for building wealth?” he asked. “This is America—we reward success.” If enacted, the change would allow investors to retain 100% of profits from the sale of assets such as stocks, homes, and businesses, with zero tax liability.

This proposal marks a sharp departure from decades of entrenched U.S. tax policy. Currently, long-term capital gains are taxed at rates ranging from 0% to 20%, with potential surcharges including the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax for high earners. Trump’s plan would zero out those liabilities entirely starting in the 2025 tax year.

Conservative economists and market analysts have lauded the move as potentially the most transformative supply-side reform since the Reagan era. They argue that removing the tax will unshackle trillions of dollars currently locked in unrealized gains, spurring investment, entrepreneurship, and broader economic dynamism. “This is a game-changer,” said one pro-growth advocate. “It sends a clear message that America is back to being the most investment-friendly nation on Earth.”

Predictably, left-wing critics erupted. One Democratic senator labeled the measure a “grenade” that would detonate the federal budget and widen the wealth gap. Others warned of asset bubbles and increased volatility as investors rush to dump assets ahead of the reform’s implementation. These concerns, however, do not seem to have spooked the markets—at least not yet.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 600 points following the announcement, while cryptocurrencies surged on expectations of tax-free gains. Real estate portals and trading platforms like Robinhood and E*TRADE saw surges in activity as users began strategizing around the policy’s timing. Online, the announcement triggered a wave of memes and commentary. The hashtag #NoCapGains began trending on X (formerly Twitter), with some calling it a “wealth liberation act” and others denouncing it as “Robin Hood in reverse.”

Legislation to formalize the proposal is expected to hit Congress within weeks. While Republicans have largely expressed support, Democrats are preparing for a fierce battle. It’s unclear whether some establishment Republicans—many of whom have been resistant to bold reform under Trump—will help move the bill forward or slow-walk it in favor of more moderate compromises.

Until the law is officially passed, financial advisors are urging caution. “The promise of zero capital gains tax is tempting,” one planner said, “but don’t bet the farm until it’s signed, sealed, and delivered.”

Still, with the 2025 tax season approaching fast, the stakes are enormous. If passed, Trump’s plan would not only mark one of the most dramatic tax overhauls in modern history—it would redefine the very incentives that drive American investment and wealth accumulation.

Business

Trump threatens additional 50% tariffs on China, urges ‘patience’

Published on April 7, 2025

Todayville

From The Center Square

By Casey Harper

President Donald Trump threatened to ratchet up tariffs against China after China upped its own tariffs against the U.S. in response to the president’s tariffs policy announcement earlier this month.

The Chinese Communist Party raised its tariffs on U.S. goods to 34%, ignoring Trump’s warning not to retaliate, which does not include Chinese tariffs on specific U.S. goods like natural gas.

That 34% figure matches the additional tariffs the president put on China in his announcement of the new tariff policy on April 2, an announcement that brought overall tariffs against China to 54%.

Trump argues that tariffs are not the only way China takes advantage of the U.S.

“Yesterday, China issued Retaliatory Tariffs of 34%, on top of their already record setting Tariffs, Non-Monetary Tariffs, Illegal Subsidization of companies, and massive long term Currency Manipulation, despite my warning that any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set,” Trump said in a statement online.

“Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” he continued.

“Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!” the president said. “Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately.”

Trump also urged Americans to be patient with his tariff policy as stocks continued to decline.

The president unveiled a sweeping set of reciprocal tariffs during a press conference earlier this month, and since that announcement the markets have seen sharp declines.

“The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO,” Trump said on TruthSocial, his social media platform. “Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”

Democratic and some Republican critics have blasted the president’s tariffs, a policy previously foreign to the Republican Party in modern politics.

Trump has admitted there will be some pain but argued that the tariffs will reinvigorate domestic manufacturing in the U.S. and raise revenue for the federal government. He also says the tariffs will help the U.S. negotiate better trade deals with other countries, many of which currently charge steep tariffs against the U.S.

Critics argue the tariffs will increase prices for Americans and hurt the economy and U.S. trading relationships.

Trump and his allies have argued the U.S. has been manipulated and taken advantage of in the previous tariff system, all while manufacturing jobs were shipped overseas. Now, they argue, much of our manufacturing is done by one of our greatest adversaries: China.

“Countries from all over the World are talking to us,” Trump said. “Tough but fair parameters are being set. Spoke to the Japanese Prime Minister this morning. He is sending a top team to negotiate! They have treated the U.S. very poorly on Trade. They don’t take our cars, but we take MILLIONS of theirs. Likewise Agriculture, and many other ‘things.’ It all has to change, but especially with CHINA!!!”

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has helped lead the charge of Republicans who oppose the president’s new trade policy.

“Politicians should pay attention to the millions of investors who are worried that widespread tariffs will lead to a recession,” Paul wrote on X Friday.

Trump’s comments suggest that he is doubling down, not backing off, of his new tariff policy, likely part of the reason markets continued to slide Monday. Trump pointed to other signs of economic health, and his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has pointed out that the stock market is only one marker of the economy and one in which half of Americans have no stake.

“Oil prices are down, interest rates are down (the slow moving Fed should cut rates!), food prices are down, there is NO INFLATION, and the long time abused USA is bringing in Billions of Dollars a week from the abusing countries on Tariffs that are already in place,” Trump said. “This is despite the fact that the biggest abuser of them all, China, whose markets are crashing, just raised its Tariffs by 34%, on top of its long term ridiculously high Tariffs (Plus!), not acknowledging my warning for abusing countries not to retaliate. They’ve made enough, for decades, taking advantage of the Good OL’ USA!”