Spain presses button to impose tax on US internet giants

The draft law, which was taken in the Council of Ministers in Spain and sent to the parliament, envisages a 3 percent tax on income from Spain from internet companies with the lowest turnover of 750 million euros and 3 million euros in  Spain.

Finance Minister and Government Spokesperson Maria Jesus Montero told the press that the new tax that is planned to be brought to internet companies is "a step towards progress in a fairer tax system that harmonizes with the current economic reality".

The Spanish government aims to generate 850m euros annually with the new tax in question.

Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook paid just 24m euros to Finance in Spain in 2017.

The digital tax, called "Google tax" in the European public, is expected to be accepted in the Spanish parliament in the autumn.

On the other hand, while similar tax decisions have been made in Italy, Germany, France and Hungary in the past few years, the US administration reacting to this threatens to impose a 25 percent customs duty on European imports if implemented.

Laya said that France, which had problems with the US due to digital tax, did not change the tax rate of 3 percent, only delaying its implementation until the end of the year.