Italy is readying a new tax on digital companies in its 2020 budget, as it seeks alternative revenues that will allow it to scrap a scheduled increase in sales tax, two coalition sources told Reuters on Monday.
The levy will oblige multinational web-based giants to pay a 3% levy on internet transactions, the sources said, adding that some changes were possible due to ongoing negotiations among the ruling parties.
The scheme is expected to yield around 600 million euros each year, and will apply to companies with annual global revenues worth at least 750 million euros and digital services exceeding 5.5 million euros in Italy.
The new scheme will take effect from January, sources said. It will operate under a “self-assessment taxation regime” by which the companies submit a calculation of the amount owed. This will be subject to possible checks by the Italian authorities.
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, it’s a “scheme,” alright.
You can’t tax business. Business doesn’t pay taxes. It collects taxes. ― Ronald Reagan
When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it. ― Frédéric Bastiat