Uber global wealth chains

Abstract

Information asymmetries between regulators, suppliers, and clients in Global Wealth Chains (GWCs) are animated by conceptual uncertainty and legal indeterminacy. This chapter explores the impact of this uncertainty and indeterminacy in the digital economy where a concept-regulation-corporate form (C-R-C) gap obstructs tax traction. Firms such as Amazon, Airbnb, Facebook, Google, and Uber host services on digital platforms enabling consumers and businesses to connect and exchange. The chapter examines the C-R-C gap as the platform business model intersects with urban transport to impact fiscal sustainability. The immediate fiscal impact arises from a growth strategy that systematically generates tax assets, a mode of service delivery that circumvents the sales tax and an employment relation that removes social security obligations for the platform based multinational company.