FRANCE intends to tax the revenue of about 30 Internet giants such as Amazon to help ensure “fiscal justice,” according to Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. The levy of as much as 5 percent of French sales will start Jan. 1 next year and potentially raise about 500 million euros (US$570 million) for the state, Le Maire told Le Parisien newspaper Sunday. Under the plan, which the cabinet will discuss Wednesday, the tax will apply to any company with global revenue of more than 750 million euros (US$852.25 million) and French sales above 25 million euros, Le Maire said. U.S., Chinese and European companies may meet the levy criteria, including a few French businesses, the report said, as governments grapple with how to tax global Internet giants that can generate huge domestic revenues from limited physical assets. Spain and Britain are also working on digital sales taxes, while Europe has so far baulked at a continent-wide levy. France intends to tax revenues from local targeted ads, marketplaces and the re-selling of personal data. Le Maire said there was no risk of the new measure clashing with a tax agreement between France and the United States. He discussed the plan with Steven Mnuchin during the U.S. Treasury Secretary’s stop in Paris late last month. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development could eventually draw up a political accord on digital and data taxation, according to Le Maire. (SD-Agencies) |