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Business is also going well in the corona crisis: Amazon's warehouse in northern France
Photo: REUTERS / Pascal Rossignol
Notwithstanding the US threat of punitive tariffs, France is levying a digital tax on Internet companies this year.
The companies concerned - including Google, Amazon and Facebook - have already received tax assessments, the Ministry of Finance announced, thereby confirming a report by the Financial Times.
US President Donald Trump had criticized the tax as "unfair" and Washington threatened punitive tariffs on French products worth 1.3 billion dollars.
The surcharge of 25 percent should be levied on goods such as cosmetics and handbags.
In view of international negotiations with the USA, France initially suspended the digital tax introduced in 2019.
The talks within the framework of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) did not bring a breakthrough after the US declared a "break" in June due to the corona pandemic.
The OECD hopes to reach an agreement by the middle of next year.
After Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential election, Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) is counting on Washington's "new willingness" to cooperate, as he recently said.
Biden himself has not yet commented on the subject.
France levies the three percent tax on sales generated in the country, including online advertising.
It affects around 30 companies with a worldwide turnover of more than 750 million euros and at least 25 million euros in France.
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dab / AFP
