The European Union has put aside plans for introducing a so-called digital tax on big tech companies operating in the bloc, due to failure to reach consensus among member states at the Ecofin meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
The proposed levy of 3% on companies making more than €750 million globally was pushed by France and Germany, while Sweden, Ireland and Denmark were strongly against, claiming it would negatively affect competitiveness. The United Kingdom, Spain and Italy said they would still proceed with imposing the tax, regardless of whether there is a union-wide agreement.
Financial Times cited a senior diplomat who said that Paris and Berlin are pressing for an "ambitious political declaration" by year's end. In the document, signatories would vow to work on introducing the tax if there's no international deal on the issue by 2020. Brussels would also work with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the effort for a multilateral deal, with an alternative OECD digital tax in case the broader talks fail.