It’s called the GAFA tax and it’s France’s new tax on large internet and technology companies. Named after Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, the tax is slated to come into effect on 1 January 2019.
According to France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, the French tax comes amid difficulties in finalising a new EU-wide levy.
“The tax will be introduced whatever happens on January 1 and it will be for the whole of 2019 for an amount that we estimate at €500m,” Le Maire told a press conference in Paris.
As reported by the Agence France-Presse (AFP), the low tax rates paid by US tech giants in Europe has repeatedly caused anger among voters in many European countries, but the 28-member bloc is divided on how to tackle the issue.
Ireland, which hosts the European headquarters of several US tech giants, leads a small group of otherwise mostly Nordic countries that argue a new tax could lead to reprisals against European companies and stoke anger in the US.
Meanwhile, some EU member states such as Britain, Spain and Italy are following the French path and are also working on national versions of a digital tax. Outside the EU, Singapore and India also planning their own schemes.
