Macron, Trump agree to hold tech giants off on digital tax

PARIS: Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump have decided to extend to the end of the year negotiations on a French tax on digital giants, delaying the threat of sanctions against Paris by Washington, a French diplomatic source said Monday.

The source said the leaders of France and the United States, who spoke on Sunday, promised to give negotiations a chance to “find a solution within an international context” and stop “a trade war that will help none.

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French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday took on social media and said, “Great discussion with U.S President Donald Trump on digital tax. We will work together on a good agreement to avoid tariff escalation.”

Great discussion with @realDonaldTrump on digital tax. We will work together on a good agreement to avoid tariff escalation.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 20, 2020

The White House said that Macron-Trump spoke and “agreed that it is important to conclude effective digital service tax negotiations, and addressed other bilateral issues as well.”

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The controversy began last year when Paris adopted a levy on up to three percent of the profits received by France’s technology companies, while international efforts went on to find a new formula for taxing revenues raised from online sales and ads.