Juncker addresses Internet tax in State of the Union, OECD voices concerns

Following last week’s proposal by France, Germany, Italy and Spain to the EU to create an ‘equalisation tax’ – which would tax Internet companies where their revenues are generated – EU President Jean-Claude Juncker highlighted this issue in his State of the Union Address. Not only did he voice his support for ‘fair taxes for the digital industry’, he also expressed his hope for a Union ‘where profits will be taxed where they were made’. These discussions only intensified with the presentation of a report by an EU lawmaker, concluding that between 2013 and 2015, the EU could have lost 5.4 billion euros in taxes from Google and Facebook. In the meantime, the Director of OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy has voiced concerns about the four EU countries’ proposal, claiming that taxes on revenue might result in loss-making firms being forced to pay.