European Union Tax Commissioner highlights the importance to push for digital tax amid COVID-19 pandemic

The European commissioner for taxation suggests that there is a growing need for a tax on digital companies amid the coronavirus crisis. Paolo Gentiloni told a webcast event jointly organized by the research group Bruegel and the Financial Times newspaper that he wants EU countries to put aside previous differences and work together quickly to agree on a common economic plan to strengthen  the EU’s economy when the COVID-19 crisis is over.

According to Gentolini, the limits on public movement, unprecedented in peacetime, that governments around the world have enacted to stop the spread of the coronavirus works well for digital companies that provide video conferencing or streaming services, while at the same time the rules are having a negative effect on traditional companies.

Gentolini also states that the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative consequences in the economic and social field could be a factor in persuading certain states to back a digital tax.