France open to delaying EU digital tax to end of 2020

FILE PHOTO: French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire leaves following the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, October 17, 2018. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo - Copyright Gonzalo Fuentes(Reuters)

By Reuters

Published on 06/11/2018 - 13:34•Updated 24/04/2024 - 02:15

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday France would accept to delay to the end of 2020 the application of a European Union tax on large digital firms if a deal were reached at EU level on the levy by the end of this year.

Le Maire told a meeting of EU finance ministers, broadcast online, that if there was no EU deal in December, that would open the way for national tax schemes that could weaken the EU common market. Spain, Britain and Italy have announced their own national plans to tax digital companies.