Business news from around the globe

EU slaps U$3.45bn fine on Google

The European Union has imposed a penalty of €2.95 billion on Google for favouring its own advertising services, marking the fourth time the tech giant has been fined in its decade-long fight with the bloc’s competition regulators.

The European Commission accused Google of distorting competition in the 27-nation bloc after investigating a complaint from the European Publishers Council, moving to rein in the tech firm despite threats of retaliation from United States President Donald Trump.

In response to the fine against Google on Friday, Trump criticised the decision and threatened a wider trade probe against the EU.

“We cannot let this happen to brilliant and unprecedented American Ingenuity and, if it does, I will be forced to start a Section 301 proceeding to nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

EU competition chief Teresa Ribera had originally planned to hand out the fine on Monday, but delayed her move after meeting opposition from EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic over concerns about the potential impact on US promises to lower tariffs on European cars under a trade deal agreed in July.

The Commission said Google favoured its own online display technology services to the detriment of rivals and online publishers and that it has abused its market power from 2014 until today.

“Google abused its dominant position in adtech, harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers. This behaviour is illegal under EU antitrust rules,” Ribera said on Friday. - Al Jazeera



SARS Commissioner urges social influencers to declare income

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has clarified how social media influencers must declare their income, stressing that all earnings, including cash, products, services, and perks, are taxable

IOL previously reported that South African social media influencers are being warned to get their tax affairs in order, as SARS is investigating undeclared income earned through online content creation and partnerships.

The news sparked concern among many influencers, who argued that understanding tax obligations can be confusing, especially for those new to the digital economy or earning non-cash benefits.

In a statement issued to the media on Friday, the revenue service said it recognises social influencers as a distinct taxpayer segment and is committed to providing clarity and support to help them meet their tax obligations

"When managing this segment, SARS will handle each such situation on a case-by-case basis according to current income-tax brackets. Some of these cases may generally fall into the provisional taxpayer category".

"For each of these segments, SARS has an engagement model whose first step is to provide clarity and certainty and to make it easy for taxpayers to comply. We work with and through stakeholders and partners to deliver SARS’s mandate". – iol.co.za



US adds 22 000 jobs in August as labour market stalls

The United States labour market has begun to stall as employers face economic uncertainty due to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and an immigration crackdown that has softened the labour pool.

The economy added 22 000 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 per cent, according to the report published by the US Department of Labour on Friday, the latest sign of slowing momentum in the labour market.

Healthcare added 31 000 jobs and social assistance 16 000, making them the only sectors to see significant gains.

Smaller increases were reported in construction, retail, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality. Those advances were offset by losses in other areas, including 15 000 federal government jobs, 12 000 in manufacturing, and 6 000 in oil and gas extraction.

“Another poor jobs report thanks to tariffs. With the benefit of revisions, it’s increasingly clear that tariffs are weighing on hiring and jobs. Manufacturing jobs are falling sharply, and so are other trade-sensitive sectors like mining and wholesale trade,” said Skanda Amarnath, executive director of Employ America and a former Federal Reserve economist, in a note provided to Al Jazeera. - Al Jazeera



Can R1bn funding breakthrough negate trade challenges?

Small and medium businesses in South Africa are set to benefit from a new R1 billion financing model.

South Africa has around three million medium, small, and micro-entrepreneurs, employing around 13.4 million people, according to FinScope.

Although the sector has an estimated turnover of over R5 trillion and accounts for 80% of the workforce, companies classified as medium, small, and micro-entrepreneurs are often financially excluded, underscoring the necessity for targeted interventions, FinScope said.

Almost R1 billion has now been unlocked for SMEs through a new financing model that blends state and pension fund capital, said Miguel da Silva, group executive of Business Banking at TymeBank.

“A collaboration between National Treasury and the pension fund industry has successfully mobilised almost R1 billion for SME financing, suggesting a scalable model for addressing South Africa’s persistent funding gap,” Da Silva said.

The initiative leverages R90 million from the National Treasury\'s Jobs Fund to attract R900 million from pension funds through an innovative risk-mitigation structure.

National Treasury’s “10% buffer effectively transforms the risk profile of SMME lending, making it palatable for institutional investors managing R19.8 trillion in household wealth,” Da Silva said. – iol.co.za