Europe considers plan to tax tech giants

Ten European Union nations support a plan to tax the revenues of tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. The tech giants have been accused by the EU countries of avoiding taxes by reporting profits in low-tax countries. The plan is to shift taxes from profits to revenue in each country where the companies do business to combat tax-dodging by some of the world’s largest companies.

“We should no longer accept that these companies do business in Europe while paying minimal amounts of tax to our treasuries,” read the letter announcing the plan. It was signed by the finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Greece, Portugal, and Austria.

European regulators are stepping up to challenge the tech giants in the digital age. Earlier this year, the EU fined Google $2.7 billion for antitrust violations. Meanwhile, in the United States, regulators have taken little action to protect competition and consumers.

Links:

10 EU nations back new plan to tax digital giants (Politico, Sept. 21, 2017)

European Union fines Google $2.7 billion for antitrust violations (Speed Matters, June 29, 2017)