The ad rate increase is to “cover a part of the cost of conforming to lawsconcerning taxes on digital services in France and Spain,” the internet giantsaid in an e-mail seen by AFP. In France, internet companies with more than 750 million euros ($895million) in worldwide sales, and 25 million in France, must pay a threepercent tax on their French operations, notably advertising sales andmarketplace operations. Amazon had already responded to the French tax last October by raising the rates it charges France-based marketplace sellers by three percent. The French tax move on global digital companies made it a pioneer in thestruggle to find a fair fiscal system for internet multinationals whose taxbill is often tiny compared to their income. The French tax brought in 400 million euros to government coffers in 2019,and the government applied the levy again last year despite pressure from the Trump administration to drop it.

Source: The Local March 05, 2021 18:11 UTC