France adopts controversial tech tax, despite U.S. disapproval
Source: The Washington Post
By James McAuley July 11 at 9:48 AM
PARIS — The French Parliament formally adopted on Thursday a controversial tax on revenue from tech giants such as Facebook, Amazon and Google whose business models rely on digital advertising.
Amid escalating trade tensions, the Trump administration announced on Wednesday a formal investigation into whether the tax unfairly discriminates against U.S. businesses. The measure would levy a 3 percent tax on certain revenue that major tech companies earn in France.
Although European Union member states have been the world’s most aggressive regulators of tech companies, the multistate bloc could not agree on a continentwide digital tax policy. While E.U. countries have vowed to adopt similar taxes, France was the first — and will have to face the potential consequences.
Washington announced an investigation under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, which grants the president the power to impose retaliatory measures against U.S. trading partners.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/france-adopts-controversial-tech-tax-despite-us-disapproval/2019/07/11/127b50d7-e287-427c-b220-9644cb276e70_story.html
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