In this issue

Taxing the platforms

No one likes taxes. So the suggestion that platforms be taxed can be derided. However, tax systems have failed to adapt to technological change. By devising how to tax the global platforms, reforms will not only raise new revenue but also have the impact of levelling the playing field.

Let’s have one thing cleared; levelling the competitive playing field is not the function of a tax system. Taxes are levied to collect revenue, more or less. However, in the hands of skilled regulators, other objectives can also be met while tinkering the taxes.

Due to the centrality of intellectual property in their success, it’s challenging to figure where a platform multinational makes money. Tech giants famously stash their intellectual property in low tax jurisdictions and pay little tax elsewhere. That makes taxing their income (profit) challenging. However, other countries including India are moving swiftly to impose sales taxes. That may be, in India’s case, to give their brick-and-mortar competitors a fighting chance. Ultimately, it creates a level playing field. E-commerce may emerge the winner but not because it had a tax break to start with.

Echelon Magazine Description:

Intelligent Storytelling

The one thing that will define the Echelon magazine will be the quality of the storytelling. Echelon,published monthly, will cover in depth Sri Lanka’s most successful businesses, examine their winning strategiesand profile their leaders in immersive stories. Great stories are also never limited to words, and our approach includes rich photography, bold graphics and leading edge design which together will make for a compelling read.

But business doesn’t start and end in a boardroom;it extends to the golf club greens, to international travel and to pursuits that blurthe lines between commercial venture and sheer passion. The Echelon team will present the best in business and lifestyle coverage that will appeal to an exclusive and affluent readership: an otherwise hard to reach demographic.

Content will be developed by one of the most experienced and proven teams of editors, financial journalists, photographers and designers in the country.This team has already raised the bar for powerful and expertly crafted business news. Shamindra Kulamannage, will lead the editorial team.

The reputation of Echelon is being built on the separation between editorial and advertising. However we are also looking for the most creative and impactful new formats that can be applied in our magazines, iPad app as well as website to help our clients reach our audience. We are flexible and creative and we will have a solution for every single advertiser who wants to reach our audience.

We are passionate about creative results and about working with our advertisers to help them create bespoke multi platform creative solutions with our in house creative team and of course our sales team.

Echelon will be a great place to show off the products and capabilities of our clients because they will be surrounded by an editorial product that is expertly crafted, full of integrity and intelligence.