The Special committee on financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance (TAX) and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) exchange of views on digital taxation with Bruno LE MAIRE, French Minister of the Economy and Finance, during the plenary session (22-25/10/2018) of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

exchange of views

Strasbourg

meeting

fight against tax fraud and evasion (T)

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect

LE MAIRE, Bruno (FR)

Digital taxation: extracts from the exchange of views with Bruno LE MAIRE, French Minister of the Economy and Finance

SOUNDBITE (French), Bruno LE MAIRE, French Minister of the Economy and Finance, In an informal council in Tallinn we did manage to get 19 out of 27 members states to give their support to this digital taxation.

SOUNDBITE (French), Bruno LE MAIRE, French Minister of the Economy and Finance, And then we've also got Luxembourg and the Baltic states as well through having a 'sunset clause' and we guarantee that once there is an OCED level agreement then the European solution will be replaced by a more robust and more widespread international solution.

SOUNDBITE (French), Bruno LE MAIRE, French Minister of the Economy and Finance, I have been told that this three per cent tax isn't actually targeted enough but actually yes it is targeted on digital activity where there is added value created by the provision of the data. So the we cannot accept people, all these millions of citizens in Europe, freely giving their data without there being some level of tax. We know that data is what is most precious the most precious value.

SOUNDBITE (French), Bruno LE MAIRE, French Minister of the Economy and Finance, If we can have the taxing of digital companies decided by the end of 2018 then I think that will help us to broaden out solutions including this very good one from was Olaf SCHULZ on the minimum level of taxation which will help us to stop tax evasion which damages everybody.

SOUNDBITE (French), Bruno LE MAIRE, I think there's scope of that taxation is clearly defined by the Commission. I'd like to attribute to records of the works done online advertising, digital mediation through digital platforms and the revenue from the sales of data. If you are going to choose a hotel, purchase the garment, book a table in a restaurant that kind of data isn't taxed, but it will be in the future.

SOUNDBITE (French), Bruno LE MAIRE, The Southern countries we could say are very keen and the northern countries chillier on this. Spain and Italy for example have already said that they were ready to set up a National tax, a digital tax from the 1st of January 2019. Were we not to find an agreement at European level now. Wouldn't that be a failure for Europe. What shame, don't shy away from a word like that to have member states who are forced themselves to implement digital taxation to redress the tax Justice because we didn't have the common will all of us here together and all of you with your joint responsibilities were not able to implement that.