- French lower house of parliament has approved a small,pioneering tax on internet giants like Google,Amazon and Facebook.
- The bill aims to stop multinationals from avoiding taxes by setting up headquarters in low-tax European Union(EU) countries.
- The bill foresees a 3% tax on the French revenues of digital companies with global revenue of more than 750 million euros ($847 million) and French revenue over 25 million euros.
- The tech industry has warned that it could lead to higher costs for consumers.It could also affect US companies including Airbnb and Uber as well as those from China and Europe.
- The bill was brought after France failed to persuade EU partners to impose a Europe-wide tax on online giants.However,it is now pushing for an international deal with the 34 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD).
