Europe’s Digital Tax Fangs Would Bite More Than Google, Facebook

The world’s biggest tech companies are staring down the barrel of a new tax on their European revenue.

The EU’s divisive effort to create a special tax for Google, Facebook, and their peers is at a pivotal moment as proponents of the so-called digital tax push for a December vote. The measure would impose a 3 percent temporary turnover tax on the biggest multinational tech companies—those with 750 million euros or more in global turnover and 50 million euros in EU sales.

The tax is more than just a new levy. It could create deep fissures in the global consensus ...