Brussels looks to capture Big Tech through tax on large corporations

BRUSSELS: The European Union is contemplating the implementation of a broad levy on large corporations, targeting major US tech companies such as Apple, Meta, and Google, to generate revenue and circumvent potential backlash from the Trump administration, according to a report by the Financial Times. Officials familiar with the discussions disclosed that the European Commission is exploring modifications to its Corporate Resource for Europe (CORE) proposal, which would impose a uniform annual tax on companies generating more than €100 million annually within the EU.

Presently, CORE necessitates a fixed annual levy ranging from €100,000 to €750,000, capturing a minimal fraction of a multinational corporation's earnings. Certain EU capitals are hesitant to adopt a pure digital tax due to concerns over upsetting American interests, while many are also opposed to CORE. According to an EU official, the solution involves broadening the tax to encompass a majority of the large corporations.

However, verification of the report by Reuters remains pending. The European Commission and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), representing several US tech firms, including Apple, Google, and Meta, have not yet responded to inquiries from Reuters. In June, US President Donald Trump had threatened to impose a 100% tariff on goods originating from any nation that enacts a digital services tax on American entities.

The US Trade Representative's office, which has frequently threatened European countries with reciprocal tariffs in response to such taxes, contends that these levies discriminate against US companies, which hold a dominant position in the global tech sector.