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digital service tax eu

EU states divided over digital services tax proposal

The EU countries remain divided on a proposal from the European Commission to implement a new digital tax on larger online groups providing services such as advertising. digital service tax eu

A meeting of EU finance ministers found that a majority is still missing to support the new tax, and some countries plan to pursue their own national initiatives instead.

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But the plan, which requires the support of all 28 EU states, is opposed by a large number of them.
The Austrian government, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU this semester, said it hopes to reach a consensus on the proposal by the end its term at year-end.

“It is very difficult to see an agreement on the digital tax because so many technical issues are not solved yet,” Danish Finance Minister, Kristian Jensen, told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of EU finance ministers.

  • READ MORE: UK to introduce new, 2% Digital Sales Tax from April 2020 

He added that the proposed EU tax was devised in a way that would hit mostly U.S. companies and therefore it would attract U.S. retaliation. “Of course there will be a reaction from the U.S.” he said, calling the tax “not a good idea for Europe”.

His remarks echoed comments made by diplomats from several EU states, including Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Malta, in a meeting last week, according to EU officials.

UPDATE: As of October 14, Austria, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom have implemented a DST (digital service tax). Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia have published proposals to enact a DST, and Latvia, Norway, and Slovenia have either officially announced or shown intentions to implement such a tax.

  • Spain approved its DST, which will go into effect in January 2021.
  • The United Kingdom’s Finance Bill 2020, which contains the DST legislation, received royal assent in July. The DST is retroactively effective from April 1, 2020.

digital service tax eu

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