There was a dramatic turn of events on Tuesday 4 December, regarding the proposal to tax the gross income of digital platforms at a rate of 3% ('digital services tax' or DST). It was not the compromise text from the Austrian Presidency of the Council (see EUROPE 12148) that European finance ministers discussed at the Ecofin Council meeting, but instead a Franco-German statement prepared overnight between Monday and Tuesday.
Although a failure was announced (see EUROPE 12150), France and...