PARIS — French lawmakers are moving ahead with plans to double a tax on big tech
firms — backing away from a more aggressive push amid fears of provoking U.S.
trade retaliation.
France’s National Assembly voted Tuesday night in favor of hiking a digital
service tax on tech companies including Google, Apple, Meta and Amazon to 6
percent, up from 3 percent.
The French government is against the move, with Economy Minister Roland Lescure
warning that a “disproportionate” tax would lead to “disproportionate”
retaliatory measures.
Lawmakers had initially pushed to hike the levy to 15 percent to hit back at
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war, sparking strong reactions from across
the Atlantic. Industries in France that fear trade retaliation have also called
for caution.
The amendment has yet to survive a final vote on the country’s 2026 budget law
next week, after which it must pass the French Senate.
As well as increasing the tax, the measure would raise the global revenue
threshold from €750 million to €2 billion — a bid to shield smaller national
players from the scope of the proposal.
“The new proposal appears to exclusively target U.S. companies, which will
likely spur retaliation impacting the broader French economy,” John Murphy, the
senior vice president and head of international at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
said last week. “Cooler heads must prevail.”
“The objective of this tax was not to harm the United States in any way … I say
this to the Americans who are listening to us, at least at the embassy,”
lawmaker Charles Sitzenstuhl from Emmanuel Macron’s party said Tuesday.