10% tax on Google and Facebook - Germany considers imposing measures on digital platforms
Germany is considering a 10% tax on major online platforms such as Google and Facebook, sources at the country's Culture Ministry said. The move is expected to heighten trade tensions with the Trump administration.
The proposal comes as Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to travel to Washington soon to meet with US President Donald Trump, although the meeting has not yet been officially announced. Trump has in the past said he will not allow foreign governments to "absorb America's tax base for their own benefit."
The Culture Ministry said officials were drafting a legislative proposal, while also seeking talks with platform operators. "These corporations do billions of dollars of business in Germany with extremely high profit margins and benefit greatly from the country's media and cultural production, as well as its infrastructure, but they pay very little tax and invest heavily in the country," sources within the ministry said.
Germany's ruling parties agreed earlier this year to consider introducing a digital services tax, but it was not on the coalition's list of priorities. The new government has yet to approve the proposal, according to officials.
If Germany goes ahead with the income tax for digital service providers, it would join a group of other countries that have done so, such as Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, India, Austria and Canada.
During Trump's first term, the office of the US Trade Representative launched an investigation into unfair trade practices against some of these countries. They said those practices discriminated against American companies, paving the way for retaliatory tariffs on certain imports.
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