GAFAM benefit from more advantageous tax regimes than traditional companies in Europe.
The lack of unanimity among EU Member States is hindering the adoption of a digital services tax, due to differing priorities.
The dematerialised nature of digital services makes it difficult to determine their tax base and locate their profits.
While it is often argued that higher taxes in Europe could slow down digital investment, other factors must also be taken into account, such as regulatory stability and access to the European market.
The proposed global minimum tax (OECD, G20) aims to reduce the attractiveness of tax havens, but does not completely prevent tax optimisation strategies by certain digital companies.
Emeritus Professor of Economics at Université Paris Dauphine
Charles Thibout
Associate Doctor at CESSP and Associate Researcher at IRIS
Key takeaways
Big Tech companies have created tools that have become so indispensable that they are redefining the way we communicate, inform ourselves and even consume.
Many businesses, for example, must comply with Amazon’s commercial rules to improve their sales.
Today, Google is “indigenising” itself in France, notably by obtaining a seat on the board of directors of the Paris section of MEDEF in 2013.
Big Tech companies are capable of standing up to national institutions, as evidenced by the standoff between Google and Facebook and the Australian government in 2021.
The total R&D budget in France, public and private combined, is 60 billion euros, compared to 200 billion dollars for GAFAM, almost exclusively for digital.
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