Why Digital Taxes Are the New Trade War Flashpoint: QuickTake

Big internet companies have long been the target of complaints that they don’t pay enough in taxes. Fed up, France imposed a 3% levy on the digital revenue of companies that make their sales primarily in cyberspace, such as Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Other countries also are targeting companies, many of which are American, that have multinational earnings that often escape the taxman’s grip. The U.S. isn’t taking this sitting down.

1. How does a digital tax work?

The French law imposes the 3% levy on companies with at least 750 million euros ($845 million) in global ...