‘Do not mix Google & wine’: France vows to proceed with digital tax despite Trump’s threats

Paris will proceed with its plan to raise levies on tech giants, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Saturday, replying to a threat issued by US President Donald Trump, who considered taxing French wine in retaliation for the digital tax on American companies.

“It’s in our interest to have a fair digital tax,” Le Maire told reporters. “Please do not mix the two issues. The key question now is how we can ... get consensus on fair taxation of digital activities.”

The new tax, which Trump branded “Macron’s foolishness,” was signed into law on Wednesday. It will affect companies with global revenues of at least $834 million (€750 million). A minimum of $27 million (€25 million) must be earned in France through “digital activities” – such as advertising – for the tax to kick in. Le Maire said that the domestic taxation is a temporary solution that will be in place until an international agreement on how to tax the transnational digital corporations.