(VOVWORLD) - The finance ministers of EU member states on Saturday held talks on a proposed tax on large digital companies with several believing agreement could be reached before year end.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire expressed optimism that EU states could reach agreement on the tax in 2018.
Germany’s Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said it is necessary to take some time for debate. Austria’s Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger said EU states wish to conclude the matter soon, saying ministers will continue to work intensively over the coming months to reach a decision by the end of this year.
Under a proposal from the European Commission in March, EU states would charge a 3% levy on digital revenues of large firms like Google and Facebook that are accused of routing their profits to the bloc’s low-tax states. Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Malta opposed the proposal, saying that it lead to revenue shift and impede innovation.