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Mikael Markander
Skribent

Taxes on digital services on the agenda at G20 meeting

news brief
Jul 23, 20241 min
AppleGoogleTechnology Industry

The US is hoping to head off a tax that hits US tech companies the hardest.

Geld Money Dollar Tunnel
Credit: PHOTOCREO Michal Bednarek - shutterstock.com

Finance ministers from the G20 countries are meeting this week in Rio de Janeiro to discuss, among other things, whether a global tax on digital services should be introduced.

Eight of the countries — France, India, Italy, Canada, Spain, Great Britain, Turkey and Austria — have chosen to introduce taxes on their own that primarily affect American technology companies such as Amazon, Apple, and Google.

The US, for its part, has threatened to respond by imposing tariffs on everything from French champagne to Italian handbags, according to Reuters.

With US President Joe Biden announcing over the weekend that he does not intend to run for re-election in November, concerns have grown about whether his successor intends to stick to a possible agreement.