The French government will bring to parliament a proposal for a new tax targeting digital sales from the so-called GAFA companies (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon). The announcement was confirmed by economy minister Bruno Le Maire, who told Les Echos that the new tax could be in place by 01 January 2019. While details have yet to be published, the measure aims to tax digital sales linked to advertising and personal data, generating an estimated EUR 500 million in 2019 for the public treasury.
The government listed the new tax among the measures that will help finance President Emmanuel Macron’s recently unveiled plan to increase purchasing power, which was announced earlier this month to address widespread public unrest over rising living costs. The government also plans to limit the planned reduction in the corporate tax rate in 2019, with the drop to 31 percent from 33 percent applying only to companies with annual turnover of less EUR 250 million.
Meanwhile, Le Maire said that he would continue to progress work on an EU digital sales tax with his European counterparts, in a bid to convince a group of countries still opposed to the project, adding that his ambition is to bring a resolution before March next year.
