Austria’s Digital Tax Data Collection OK Under EU Privacy Law

The European Commission’s top tax official has assured two Austrian lawmakers that their country’s digital services tax does not violate the privacy rules of the 27-nation bloc.

The 5% tax on digital advertising requires tech companies track where users are in order to comply.

• “Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)1 the objective of tax audit can justify the processing of personal data, provided it is laid down by law and is limited to what is necessary and proportionate,” Paolo Gentiloni, the EU commissioner for economy, wrote in a letter dated July 22.
• He wrote in response to a ...