With the European finance ministers to meet on Saturday to discuss the Commission's proposals for the taxation of the digital sector (see EUROPE 12089), the German position on the matter is becoming harder to pin down.
On Thursday 6 September, the French minister, Bruno Le Maire, took the floor to defend Berlin's support for the Commission's proposal, following the controversial publication of an article in the German daily newspaper Bild stating that the German finance minister would ultimately oppose the introduction of an Internet giants tax. The substance of the article was subsequently denied by a ministry spokesperson.
Interviewed on France 2 about the possibility of Germany switching sides, Le Maire took pains to provide reassurances. “The Germans have been with us since the start of the journey towards a fair taxation of the digital sector and I firmly believe that they will stay with us until the end”, he said.
According to a diplomatic source, Germany does agree on the outlines of the proposal, but is divided by internal debates.
Over at the European Parliament, the stance is getting tougher. In a press release published on Wednesday, Green MEPs Eva Joly of France and Sven Giegold of Germany criticised the attitude of Olaf Schloz, who “seems to be losing any sense of tax justice”.
Le Maire, who is not abandoning all hope of an agreement by the end of the year, gave the European finance ministers “their wake-up call” and called for a swift decision.
According to the same source, work at expert level on the Commission's proposal is making good progress and a constructive discussion is anticipated on Saturday. “The question is not whether we do it, but how”, the source explained.
Positions are certainly evolving. Those in favour of an international solution at 'G20' level are reportedly now prepared to look at certain parameters, with the exception of Ireland, which maintains its opposition in principle, which some see as possible currency in the negotiations on Brexit.
With regard to this, the stated support of Germany is critical for France and might even be enough to change the dynamic and possibly even win over the last doubters. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)