In March 2018, the EU introduced a legislative package on the fair taxation of the digital economy. It contained proposals for an interim and a long-term digital tax. However, there was no immediate political agreement in the Council. As finding a global solution at the OECD level or a coordinated EU approach was not yet feasible at the time, some Member States started designing or implementing their own digital taxes, which gave rise to trade tensions. In this podcast, we talk about taxing the digital economy. We analyse the main challenges, look at EU proposals and new developments to make international tax regimes fit for the digital age.

EPRS policy podcast - Taxing the digital economy: New developments and the way forward

Following continued revelations in the last 5 years (Luxleaks, the Panama Papers, Football leaks and the Paradise Papers), the European Parliament decided to establish a Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (TAX3), on 1 March 2018.

The work of the TAX3 Committee built on the work of its predecessors (the TAXE, TAX2 and PANA Committees) and investigated new issues, such as digital taxation, national citizenship programs and VAT fraud.
In the course of its mandate, the TAX3 Committee met 34 times and organized 4 fact-finding missions to Washington, Latvia, the Isle of Man, Estonia and Denmark. Hundreds of experts were heard, including Commissioners, Ministers, prosecutors, investigative journalists, anti-money laundering and tax experts, accountants, bankers and NGO representatives before submitting a final report with its recommendations, including a detailed roadmap towards fairer and more effective taxation, and tackling financial crimes.

#EUelections2019 - Special Committees TAX3 and PANA

The EU’s 2021-2027 long-term budget, together with NextGenerationEU, amounts to €1.8 trillion. This unprecedented response will help repair the economic and social damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic and aid the transition towards a modern, more sustainable Europe.

The package consists of the long-term budget (the 2021-2027 MFF multiannual financial framework) of €1.074 trillion, combined with the temporary recovery instrument NextGenerationEU of €750 billion.

It was adopted by the European Parliament on 16 December 2020.

MEPs negotiated major top-ups for EU flagship programmes like Health, Horizon (Research), Erasmus+ and supported also a roadmap introducing new sources of EU revenue. This roadmap is part of the ‘Interinstitutional Agreement’, a legally binding text. In addition to the contribution made as of 2021, based on how much unrecycled plastic a country has, the roadmap includes an ETS (Emissions Trading System)-based Own Resource (from 2023, possibly linked with a carbon border adjustment mechanism). It also includes a digital levy (from 2023) and a Financial Transaction Tax-based Own Resource, as well as a financial contribution that the corporate sector must make or a new common corporate tax base (from 2026).

Concerning the expenditure of NextGenerationEU funds, Parliament secured regular meetings between the three institutions to assess the implementation of funds made available on the legal basis of Art. 122. These exceptional funds, provided outside the regular budget to restart the economy heavily impacted by the pandemic, will be spent in a transparent manner and Parliament, together with Council, will check any deviation from previously agreed plans.

EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027

&nbsp;Arelatively recent phenomenon, the collaborative economy has become to the centre of the interest&nbsp;a decade in some areas of activities, such as car-sharing or short-term lets. Although it is now a well-known term – with alternative names from the 'sharing' to 'gig' to 'peer-to-peer' economy – it remains difficult to grasp precisely, beyond the central feature that potential consumers and providers are connected via a digital platform that matches demand and supply, providing cheap access to information on a very large scale.

These 'match-makers' make it possible for non-professional providers to offer goods and servicesin a wide range of activities, generating value and with the potential for further development.

The success of collaborative platforms has raised concerns regarding workers’ rights and unfair advantages these firms might enjoy over traditional companies that are bound by stricter legal regulations. Taxation issues in the collaborative economy increasingly highlight the need for an in-depth look into taxation, focusing on the link between the value created and tax, and the need for a level playing field for incumbent business facing competition from these new entrants to the market.

See more on this topic by visiting our package&nbsp; for the 8th parliamentary term.

Collaborative economy

EP Plenary session - Digital taxation: OECD negotiations, tax residency of digital companies and a possible European Digital Tax

Press conference on Digital services tax report

With the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise of digital and remote working, people have felt increasing stress, anxiety, depression and fatigue. What is the Parliament doing to tackle this mental health crisis? On top of proposing to make 2023 the European Year of Mental Health, report author Maria Walsh is proposing solutions at the EU level: a right to disconnect, better work-life balance and new progressive directives are in the pipeline.

“You can never do enough": Mental health in the digital workplace

During the plenary session (13-16 September 2021) in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Ursula VON DER LEYEN delivers the State of the European Union (SOTEU 2021) to the MEPs. Part 2 of the opening statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, on the following topics: - Success of the European vaccination campaign and the delivery of vaccines to Africa (200 million doses to the continent) - Economy: support to over 31 million workers and 2.5 million companies across Europe; investments in digital skills and infrastructures. Investments in the chips production. - Social and Equity: New European Health Strategy; Fight against tax fraud and tax evasion. - Youth: Next Generation EU shoul be funded by new own resources; Proposal to make 2022 the year of European youth. This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery.

Part 2/5 - State of the European Union 2021 debate: opening statement by Ursula von der LEYEN, President of the European Commission, on a Europe united through adversity and recovery - Economy - Social and Equity - Youth

Parliament overwhelmingly approved the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the UK and also discussed the EU Covid-19 certificate. The research programme Horizon Europe and the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism will receive a boost in funding, while members also pushed to make international tax rules fairer.

Plenary highlights: EU-UK agreement, Covid-19 certificates and digital taxation

The Special Committees on Foreign interference in all democratic processes in the EU (INGE), on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age (AIDA), on Beating Cancer (BECA) as well as the Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC) and the Committee of Inquiry on animal transport (ANIT) hold their constitutive meetings and elect their chairs and vice-chairs in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Constitutive meeting of 5 new Special Committees - Inquiry on animal transport (ANIT): illustrative shots and statement by Tilly METZ (Greens/EFA,LU), elected Chair

Constitutive meeting of 5 new Special Committees - Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age (AIDA): illustrative shots and statement by Dragoş TUDORACHE (Renew, RO), elected Chair

Constitutive meeting of 5 new Special Committees - Foreign interference in all democratic processes in the EU (INGE): illustrative shots and statement by Raphaël GLUCKSMANN (S&D, FR), elected Chair

90 results for "digital tax"

Topics (3)

#EUelections2019 - Special Committees TAX3 and PANA

EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027

Collaborative economy

Streaming (1)

Videos (12)

“You can never do enough": Mental health in the digital workplace

Part 2/5 - State of the European Union 2021 debate: opening statement by Ursula von der LEYEN, President of the European Commission, on a Europe united through adversity and recovery - Economy - Social and Equity - Youth

Plenary highlights: EU-UK agreement, Covid-19 certificates and digital taxation

Constitutive meeting of 5 new Special Committees - Inquiry on animal transport (ANIT): illustrative shots and statement by Tilly METZ (Greens/EFA,LU), elected Chair

Constitutive meeting of 5 new Special Committees - Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age (AIDA): illustrative shots and statement by Dragoş TUDORACHE (Renew, RO), elected Chair

Constitutive meeting of 5 new Special Committees - Foreign interference in all democratic processes in the EU (INGE): illustrative shots and statement by Raphaël GLUCKSMANN (S&D, FR), elected Chair

Photos (73)

EP Plenary session - Digital taxation: OECD negotiations, tax residency of digital companies and a possible European Digital Tax

EP Plenary session - Digital taxation: OECD negotiations, tax residency of digital companies and a possible European Digital Tax

EP Plenary session - Digital taxation: OECD negotiations, tax residency of digital companies and a possible European Digital Tax

EP Plenary session - Digital taxation: OECD negotiations, tax residency of digital companies and a possible European Digital Tax

EP Plenary session - Digital taxation: OECD negotiations, tax residency of digital companies and a possible European Digital Tax

EP Plenary session - Digital taxation: OECD negotiations, tax residency of digital companies and a possible European Digital Tax

Audios (1)

EPRS policy podcast - Taxing the digital economy: New developments and the way forward