Brussels looks to capture Big Tech through tax on large corporations

The European Union is contemplating a new tax on large US tech companies to boost revenue while evading potential criticism from the Trump administration, according to the Financial Times. Officials familiar with the matter told the newspaper that Brussels is looking at broadening the Corporate Resource for Europe (CORE) proposal, which currently imposes a fixed annual levy of between €100,000 and €750,000 on companies with annual revenue exceeding €100 million.

The proposed amendment would require all companies operating within the EU with annual revenues surpassing €100 million to pay a lump-sum tax contribution, aiming to capture a larger portion of a multinational company's earnings. However, some EU capitals oppose a pure digital tax, fearing it may alienate American business interests, and many more are hesitant to adopt CORE.

The EU official suggested expanding the tax to cover all major companies to achieve the desired outcome. Reuters was unable to independently verify the report. The European Commission and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), representing several US tech companies like Apple, Google, and Meta, have not yet commented on the proposed changes.

In June, US President Donald Trump threatened a 100% tariff on all goods from any country imposing a digital services tax on American companies. The US Trade Representative's office argued that such taxes discriminate against US companies, which dominate the global tech sector.