France passes tax on tech giants

France's parliament gave its final approval to a tax on big technology companies.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire says the country's new tech tax in a matter of national sovereignty:

"I believe it is our responsibility, us, elected people, public power, to avoid the emergence of companies that would become private states, that would have all the privileges of the states without having the constraints and the surveillance which go with it."

Some EU countries have been working on similar measures.

Austria in April increased the size of its planned tax targeting tech companies to 5% of their advertising revenue in the country from 3%.