Italy’s new tax on tech giants likely to trigger US retaliation
Max Civili
Press TV, Rome
The 2020 budget bill which the Italian Chamber of Deputies is likely to approve on Monday includes the introduction of a web tax that is to affect US internet giants operating in the country.
The digital tax will be imposed on revenue from internet transactions for tech companies with sales of at least 750 million euros, when at least 5.5 million euros come from services provided in Italy.
This is despite threats from US President Donald Trump that Washington could increase tariffs on Italy because he believes the new levy unfairly targets American companies.
The Italian government is planning to introduce a three percent levy on the revenue of global tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google. This move is expected to bring in some 600 million euros in revenue to the Italian state every year.
Other European countries including, Britain, France and Germany, are also planning to adopt a similar tax, thereby reducing the scope of tax evasion in the European Union. Most tech giants operating in the EU have their registered offices in countries with a favorable tax system in order to minimize their overall tax burden.
The Office of the US Trade Representative has recently announced that it is considering new tariffs of up to 100 percent on European foods which could be imposed from early next year.
In October, the US imposed 25% duties on hundreds of food products from across Europe in retaliation for EU aircraft subsidies. The brunt of the tariffs has been borne by France, the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy.
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