"We were a few inches from an agreement on the taxation of digital giants, who are perhaps the only ones in the world to have benefited enormously from the coronavirus" ... and patatras! These words, and this frustration, are those of Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of Economy and Finance. Last week, a letter from Steven Mnuchin, his American counterpart, was enough to overturn the prospect of a pact in 2020. The famous Gafa (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon) - but also, behind them, Microsoft, Airbnb , Netflix and others - regularly accused of not paying their fair share of tax, escape, once again, the ax.
This Monday, international negotiations are therefore deadlocked. Carried out under the aegis of the OECD, they were nevertheless to lead to an agreement by the end of the year. For Paris, which has already made a lot of concessions, the rebound of the past week is the last straw that broke the camel's back. "This letter is a provocation," lambasted Bruno Le Maire.
Paris draws first
The Minister of Economy has therefore warned that France will not give up the tax, which it began to collect in 2019 (before freezing it pending an international agreement). "We will apply whatever taxation to digital giants in 2020 because it is a question of justice," he warned.
The last time Paris did this, Washington had unearthed the trade hatchet. "What is this way of treating the allies of the United States by systematically threatening us with sanctions," denounced Bruno Le Maire. This time, there is no question of backtracking. But senior officials from the Ministry of the Economy know that France would have a lot, a lot to lose.
Towards a European response?
This Monday, Bruno Le Maire is in Berlin to meet with his German counterparts Olaf Scholz and Peter Altmaier, in charge of Finance and the Economy. "France and Germany are perfectly aligned on the subject of digital taxation," one swears to Bercy, pretending to forget that Germany - a major exporter - has always moved backwards on the subject. In Berlin, Bruno Le Maire is playing big: "The Covid crisis has made the problem even more glaring, insists someone close to the minister. In France, companies taxed at 30% go bankrupt while the Gafa, who pay little tax, are in good health. Last parameter - and of size - "the state coffers need this money more than ever".
All hopes have not vanished. "The Americans have not slammed the door, insists economist Anne-Sophie Alsif, member of the think tank BSI Economics. They don't say they are against a Gafa tax, they talk about a timing problem. Donald Trump is also trying to catch up on his election campaign. He wants to say that he defends the interests of American companies. But it's rhetoric. On the other side of the Atlantic, more and more voices are rising to demand better taxation of the Gafa. There, the debate even goes so far as to envisage their dismantling, via an antitrust law!
