Internet corporations should pay more taxes in the view of French President Emmauel Macron. "We need fairer taxation", the 42-year-old demanded in Paris on Monday, referring to companies such as Google and Facebook. Macron spoke at a jubilee event of the OECD, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The agreement for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was signed exactly 60 years ago in 1960.
"Citizens no longer accept it"
The Corona crisis has accelerated digitalization, Macron said. "A handful of Internet companies" had expanded their profits during the crisis. In the process, however, the companies mostly did not pay their fair share of taxes, according to the head of state. Macron said many burgers no longer accept this behavior. He did not mention the names of companies.
The OECD has long been negotiating an international solution for a digital tax. However, due to the Corona pandemic and political disagreements, talks are progressing more slowly than planned, according to earlier reports.
Dispute with USA, EU going it alone
Macron explicitly called for an agreement by mid-2021 at the latest – in line with the new timetable. His country had introduced a national digital tax in 2019, but had not initially applied it because of ongoing international negotiations. The U.S. had repeatedly threatened France with punitive tariffs over this tax. If there is no global agreement, the EU Commission intends to impose a regulation on its own in 2021 if necessary.