Frances Senate voted to adopt a digital service tax today as Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire pushed back against criticism from the United States, saying that Paris would makes its own tax decisions.
The comments came after U.S. President Donald Trumps administration said it had launched an investigation into the French tax, which targets the revenues of technology giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook.
“I deeply believe that allies can and must settle their differences with means other than threats. France is a sovereign state that makes its own fiscal decisions, and will continue to do so,” Le Maire told the Senate ahead of the vote.
The 3-percent levy targets companies whose worldwide revenue exceeds €750 million or €25 million in France. Le Maire tried to get the tax adopted at EU-level but failed to garner enough support for unanimous approval, settling for a national tax instead.
On Wednesday, the U.S. administration said it would probe whether Frances digital tax is an unfair trade practice that targets U.S. tech giants under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, a warning shot that could eventually result in tariffs or other retaliatory measures.
“This is the first time in the history of French/U.S. relations that the United States decides to open [such a procedure],” Le Maire said.
He added: “This tax is not the mad idea of a few European states. It is based on the diagnosis that there are new bRead More – Source
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