The US wants to impose sanctions on six countries because they have introduced so-called digitax. This tax mainly affects us tech companies, such as Google and Facebook. Washington therefore wants to tax products from the UK, Turkey, Italy and Spain, among others, according to news agency Bloomberg on Monday, based on documents from the US government.
The value of the taxes that the US intends to introduce can amount to $ 1 billion per year. This amount is about the same as the digit tax that the countries impose on mainly American companies.
These include taxes on Carousel and make-up from the UK, caviar and handbags from Italy, carpets from Turkey and shoes from Spain. Austria is also subject to charges, including on micro – and telescopes. The US also wants to introduce taxes on gold jewellery from India. The rates can be up to 25 percent. There are no plans for taxes on Dutch goods.
The introduction of a digital tax has been under discussion for some time. The US and Europe are currently looking for a solution under the umbrella of the organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The US government says it wants to work towards a solution, but to keep all options open.
About the author: Rick Culpepper
Rick Culpepper is of those journalists who dig the topic to the very bottom. He is often late with the delivery of the piece, but always does it perfectly. In his spare time, he collects data for one of the most high-profile investigations of corruption in the EU.
