The United States "is welcome" to return, when it wishes, to the negotiating table on the digital tax, said Sunday the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, after the announcement of a "pause" by Washington in these delicate international discussions.
Read also: US brake on digital taxation
On Wednesday, the Trump administration, citing the lack of progress on the taxation of digital giants, decided to take a "break" from the discussions which are taking place within the framework of the OECD and which were to lead to 'by the end of the year a global agreement to tax groups like GAFA - acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon - regularly accused of not paying their fair share of tax.
“We have almost reached an agreement. (Steven) Mnuchin (US Minister of Finance) has indicated that he wants to leave the negotiating table. In my life, I have made negotiations, it runs until December 31, of course we leave the room, we will consult, we come back. They are welcome and can come back in September, in October, why not in November and why not in December, ” said Thierry Breton on RFI.
"And if there is never an agreement within the framework of the OECD, our proposal with my colleague Paolo Gentiloni, who is the European Commissioner for the Economy, is ready and will be put on the table" , a added Thierry Breton. "We don't threaten anyone, we say it's just normal" . And there are "not only the American platforms" but also "the big Chinese platforms, everyone will be put in the same boat. It is perfectly normal that in this information space, we pay our fair tax, ” insisted the European Commissioner.
The European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni, had hoped Thursday that the break announced by Washington in these international negotiations on the taxation of GAFA would be "not a final stop".
