European Digital Taxes Risk Resurfacing Tensions, Observers Say

Taxes on profits that businesses make from their digital presence in Europe could provoke a new round of transatlantic tension with the US if a global tax deal’s so-called Pillar One stalls, speakers at a Tax Foundation Europe seminar said.

Ratification of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Pillar One proposal is uncertain, said Gerassimos Thomas, director general for taxation and customs union in the European Commission.

Pillar One relates to how profits of the world’s largest multinationals are allocated for tax purposes, assigning them to jurisdictions by market rather than headquarters. A multilateral convention is on track ...