U.S. tech companies could end up paying billions of dollars in new taxes under a plan the European Commission is considering, according to a report by the Financial Times late Wednesday. According to a draft report seen by the FT, a “digital tax” would be be assessed against companies’ revenues rather than profits. The tax, which the FT said was likely to be set at 3%, would apply to tech companies with more than 100,000 users in Europe, and cover everything from ad revenue from Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. to subscription fees for companies such as Apple Inc. and Spotify AB. The tax, which may be announced next week in Brussels, is estimated to raise about 5 billion euros a year, the FT reported. The tax is likely to face stiff opposition from U.S. tech groups, but a number of EU member states, such as the U.K., France and Germany, complain tech companies don’t pay their fair share in EU taxes.
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