Amazon, Facebook and Google to join forces with Trump to fight French tech tax

NewsIndustry

Donald Trump will join forces with Amazon, Facebook and Google to fight France’s implementation of a three per cent “Amazon tax”.

Today Facebook, Google and Amazon are all set to testify in Washington to argue that France’s global tech tax is unfairly targeting US tech giants, pledging support for Trump’s probe into the legislation.

Last month French President Emmanuel Macron signed the tax into law, which requires tech companies with global revenues of over €750 million (£687 million) and digital sales of over €25 million (£22.9 million) in France to pay a three per cent tax on domestic revenues.

Trump immediately hit back at the tax, claiming it unfairly targets US companies and threatening to impose tariffs on France.

Today will see US trade officials open a “Section 301” investigation into the French tax to see if it does indeed discriminate against US companies.

READ MORE: Jeremy Corbyn wishes Amazon “many happy tax returns” on its 25th birthday

Google, Facebook and Amazon, the latter of which often draws the ire of the US president, will all submit evidence at the hearing today.

Amazon’s director of international tax policy said that the tax’s “revenue thresholds were set high so that it would apply only to a small number of almost entirely non-French companies.

“The revenue thresholds and covered services bring numerous US, but very few French companies within the tax’s ambit,” he added.

All eyes will be on the outcome of the hearing and whether it leads to the introduction of tariffs, with many countries across the EU including the UK working on their own version of the digital tax.

Earlier this year an investigation by the Daily Mirror revealed that Amazon had paid a total of £61.7 million in corporation tax over the past 20 years, despite making a total UK turnover of around £7 billion.

This compares to physical UK retailers like M&S, which paid £65.4 million corporation tax just last year, Tesco which paid £176 million, Dixons Carphone which paid £42 million and John Lewis which paid £43 million.

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