On 25/8, former US President Donald Trump defended US tech companies on Truth Social. He argued that "digital services taxes, laws, and regulations are designed to harm or discriminate against American tech companies." Trump asserted this benefits China and "needs to stop immediately."
"I am warning all countries that maintain digital services taxes, laws, and regulations that if they are not repealed, I will impose significant additional tariffs on their goods entering the US, as well as restrict the export of technology and chips," Trump wrote.
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Major US tech companies are being targeted by digital services taxes in several countries. Photo: Reuters |
Major US tech companies are being targeted by digital services taxes in several countries. Photo: Reuters
The former president has long been dissatisfied with countries imposing digital services taxes. The taxes primarily affect the world's largest tech companies, such as Meta, Alphabet, Apple, and Amazon, all of which are American.
Trump even used this issue in trade negotiations. In June, he announced the end of negotiations with Canada because the country had begun imposing a digital services tax on US tech companies. The Canadian government planned to levy a 3% tax on companies with annual revenue from Canadian users exceeding 20 million CAD (14.5 million USD). Two days later, they withdrew the tax to continue negotiations with the US.
To date, several countries including the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and India have imposed taxes on the revenue of multinational tech companies operating within their borders. These countries argue that these large tech corporations operate in their territories and profit significantly from their citizens while contributing little in taxes to local governments.
In the European Union (EU), this tax was adopted in 2022 with the goal of ensuring a healthier and safer internet environment.
In February, Trump signed a memorandum requesting the Office of the US Trade Representative to re-conduct an investigation into digital services taxes that he initiated during his first term. The purpose was to investigate whether countries were using these taxes to "discriminate against American businesses."
Ha Thu (Reuters, CNBC)
