Digital services will “inevitably come into focus,” said Finnish EPP lawmaker Aura Salla, who is also a former top lobbyist for Meta in Brussels.
EPP President Manfred Weber said on Tuesday that the “digital giants only pay little to our digital infrastructure where they benefit so much.”
Some EU countries are adding to the chorus. On Thursday French government spokesperson Sophie Primas said the EU’s next wave of retaliation could target “digital services that are currently not taxed. ”
French liberal European lawmaker Sandro Gozi, meanwhile, mentioned “taxing American digital giants” as among the options.
The issue of a digital services tax has been simmering for a while in the EU, but the bloc’s 27 member countries have no unanimity on the issue, and taxation policy requires all EU countries to agree on joint policy.
Some member countries have thus gone solo. Most recently, Belgium’s ruling coalition deal contained an agreement to install a digital tax by 2027 if there’s no deal at the international or EU level.
Ireland, the European home base of several U.S. Big Tech companies, pushed back right away on Tuesday. Targeting U.S. digital services is not the EU’s position, said Irish Trade Minister Simon Harris, adding it could be very damaging for Ireland.
Gregorio Sorgi contributed reporting.
