‘Europe must lead the way in digital tax’

PARIS, Apr 08 (Reuters): Europe needs to decide on a digital tax and should lead the way if there is insufficient consensus globally, Competition Commissioner of European Union Margrethe Vestager said on Monday.

There is still disagreement among EU members over how to implement a so-called "GAFA tax" - named after Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon - to ensure the global internet giants pay a fair share of taxes on their massive business operations in Europe.

France has been driving hard for such a tax, but at a meeting of the European Union over the weekend, Sweden, Finland, Ireland and Denmark blocked a draft EU-wide GAFA tax proposal, officials said.

"We are becoming an increasingly digital world and it will be a huge problem if we do not find a way to raise (digital) taxes," Vestager told France Inter radio.

Vestager said European countries first needed a deal which could lead to a EU-wide harmonised tax.