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BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that a digital tax from the European Union would be proposed at a meeting of EU finance ministers no later than December. .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the European Parliament at a debate on the future of Europe at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on November 13, 2018. REUTERS / Vincent Kessler
"We talk about it with France. But note: we are not discussing the question of whether to tax digital businesses, we are discussing how to do it, "said Merkel at the German online portal t-online.de in a published interview Tuesday evening.
"There will be a proposal in December," she said.
France has long been the main supporter of the tax, but is increasingly frustrated by Germany's hesitations over details after Berlin agreed in principle to the idea in June.
After months of tough lobbying, the French government said only Denmark, Sweden and Ireland remained opposed.
Germany said this week that she was in favor of the EU's draft plan to tax major Internet companies such as Google and Facebook for their turnover, which, according to EU officials, pay unfairly less tax than other companies.
Merkel's comments came as the German firm prepared to present an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy to help Europe's largest economy adapt to the digital age. .
According to a draft document reviewed by Reuters, the German government has earmarked about 3 billion euros ($ 3.39 billion) for research and development on AI.
"Our future prosperity depends heavily on it, as is the question of whether and how we can defend our European values of human dignity and the protection of privacy in the digital age," Merkel said. t-online.de.
Germany has been at the forefront of industrial innovation for decades, but politicians have been slow to realize that its export model, based on traditional manufacturing, is vulnerable and has difficult to catch up.
Solid growth – the economy is in its ninth year of expansion – has left many businesses too busy meeting their orders to have the time to plan their digital future.
($ 1 = 0.8855 euros)
Reportage of Maria Sheahan; Edited by Paul Tait
