EU agrees on Internet tax proposals for early 2018 in line with OECD work

During an EU summit, EU leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring the fair taxation of Internet companies, inviting ‘appropriate’ proposals from the European Commission by early 2018. The Summit’s conclusion also referred to the need to ‘ensure a global level-playing field in line with the work currently underway at the OECD‘. The agreement is considered to be a setback for French President Emmanuel Macron, who is planning to secure an EU agreement on revenue tax, independent of the OECD. This idea is opposed by a number of EU countries, such as Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta, which argue that such measures might ‘hand an advantage to America, to Japan and to the United Kingdom’.