EU withdraws from digital tax? - A victory for Trump on the eve of imposing tariffs
The European Commission appears to have abandoned plans to impose a tax on digital companies, a move that hands victory to Donald Trump and American tech giants like Apple and Meta.
With the EU and the US engaged in the hottest phase of negotiations over a trade deal, Brussels removed the digital tax option from its list.
Senior EU officials are in high-stakes talks to decide which taxes will be included in the Commission's proposal, to be published on Wednesday, for the budget starting in 2028. The document, which could still be revised by officials before publication, set out a list of possible taxes, but not how much money each one would generate.
A decision against a digital tax would be a major reversal for the EU, which in May floated taxing tech giants as a way to pay down the bloc's debt. The idea was mentioned in a document on the next budget discussed by the 27 EU commissioners.
The turnaround could be a strategic move by the EU, which is seeking favorable trade terms with the U.S. The issue of EU tax increases has always been sensitive, as the bulk of the bloc's funding comes from contributions from governments.
Instead of a digital tax, the Commission wants to propose three new taxes targeting electronic waste, tobacco products and large EU companies with a turnover of over €50 million, according to a document. The aim is to generate €25 billion to €30 billion a year that would be used to repay the common debt that was used to finance the bloc's post-Covid recovery.
The Commission will propose an EU-wide tax on tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigars. These goods are currently taxed by individual countries, which keep the revenue for themselves.
Although it did not oppose the proposed new taxes, Sweden said that shifting part of its national income to the EU is "completely unacceptable."
The Commission also suggests a tax on waste electrical and electronic equipment. The proposal is expected to confirm the introduction of a carbon border tax, an idea supported by countries, and a sharing of revenues generated by the emissions trading scheme (ETS). The idea is politically sensitive among the Eastern European countries most affected by the scheme.
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