France will start charging a fee to internet giants called GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and other companies) from January 1 without waiting for the European Union to adopt a rule, announced today Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.
“The rate will be applied as of January 1, 2019 and for the whole of 2019 for an amount that we evaluate at 500 million euros,” said Le Maire at a press conference in Paris together with the Russian Minister of Development, Maxim Oreschkin.
This measure “could be introduced in the Pact law”, approved in first reading by the National Assembly, which will be presented to the Senate at the beginning of next year. “It’s a possibility, but neither is it the only one,” he explained.
However, the minister said that this tax on internet giants, which France has so far defended without success in the European Union (EU), will not be limited to the billing provided for in the European directive and will be extended to “income from advertising, digital platforms and resale of personal data “.
As for European taxes, Le Maire does not give up and expects a directive to be adopted “unanimously” in March.
Also published on Medium.