Taxing intangible assets: issues and challenges for a digital Europe

Value creation is increasingly based on knowledge and intangible assets. This trend has gained momentum with the development of the service sector, the rise in competition as a result of globalisation and deregulation, and the impact of the digital revolution.Innovation has proven to be a key factor in economic growth. In the aftermath of the global crisis; public authorities, states, European organisations (the EU and the Council of Europe) and transnational and international bodies (UN, OECD, WTO, IMF) have a major role to play in regulating the multi-dimensional potential of global growth and defending against the problems inherent in these new, unavoidable processes.The EU sees the Digital Single Market (DSM) and the capital markets union as two priority aspects in the completion of the European Single Market (ESM), This article aims to highlight the main political, technological, institutional and regulatory characteristics and contradictions of the DSM from a global perspective, tracing its development over time and particularly analysing the taxation of the digital economy. The article also examines the EU's changing role in a complex system of players worldwide, its contribution in setting global standards on fiscal and technological development, its involvement in the governance of new networks. This research is based on a wide range of multilingual and multimedia sources, relevant statistics on the digital economy, and clarifications of notions and terminology as needed.