02/06/2020 (Agence Europe) – A dozen States are the subject of an investigation into digital service fees, initiated Tuesday 2 June by the Office of the USTR under Section 301. The countries affected by this procedure include Member States in the European Union – Austria, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic – but also the United Kingdom, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Turkey. These entities have in common that they apply, or even plan to apply, a tax on the sales by the giants of the digital sector (EUROPE 12294/10). The European Commission is considering levying this tax to secure own resources, which could bring in around €1.3 billion a year (see EUROPE 12494/1, 12495/23). A similar investigation was launched against France in July 2019 but has not yet been concluded (see EUROPE 12294/10). See the USTR press release: https://bit.ly/36UiYQB (HD)