France, U.K. Offer to Limit Digital Tax After U.S. Threat (1)

France, the U.K., Italy and Spain offered to limit the scope of a proposed global digital tax, a concession after the U.S. threatened to hit those countries with tariffs if they moved ahead with levies on tech companies.

This approach “would considerably ease the task of achieving a consensus-based solution and make a political agreement within reach this year,” according to a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin obtained by Bloomberg News.

The finance chiefs from the four countries offered to proceed with a “phased approach” that would initially only include automated digital services companies. It’s the clearest indication ...