Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
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Title: Germany is considering a 10 percent digital service tax on US tech
giants

Date: Thu, 29 May 2025 19:57:05 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/germany-is-...

Under new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Germany could impose a new 10 percent
tax on major online platforms such as Google and Facebook. Reuters reported
that political factions in the country struck a deal earlier this year to
pursue these fees for digital service companies.

"These corporations do billions in business in Germany with extremely high
profit margins and benefit enormously from the countryΓÇÖs media and cultural
output as well as its infrastructure ΓÇö but they pay hardly any taxes,
invest too little, and give far too little back to society," Germany's
Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer said of the draft rule during an interview
with the magazine Stern.

Other nations around the world have also explored and enacted taxes on online
revenue generated by the largest internet tech companies. Britain, France,
Italy, Spain, Turkey, India, Austria and Canada have similar legislation to
the draft rule Germany's culture minister is proposing, according to Reuters.

If the tax is passed, Germany could see retaliation from President Donald
Trump's administration. Trump had said in February that he would seek tariffs
on nations that impose a digital service tax on US tech businesses.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-
tech/germany-is-considering-a-10-percent-digital-service-tax-on-us-tech-
giants-195705330.html?src=rss

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