Spain says it seeks a fair tech tax, after U.S. tariff move

[June 03, 2021]  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain is negotiating with the United States and other countries to find a fairer system for taxing tech companies' profits at a global level, Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said on Thursday.

Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino is welcomed by German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (not pictured) at the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Economics and Financial Affairs in Berlin, Germany, September 11, 2020. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/Pool

Calvino spoke a day after Washington slapped a 25% tariff on over $2 billion worth of imports from Spain and five other countries over their digital services taxes.

It then immediately suspended the duties to allow time for international tax negotiations, which also include a U.S. proposal for a global minimum corporate tax, to continue.

"Obviously (the tariff) is not good news, but it is positive (the U.S.) said it suspended enforcement," Calvino said.

The goal of the talk was to find "a fairer tax system, not only on the national level, but also European and even global level," she added.

Spain has approved a 3% digital tax on revenues from digital services, such as advertising and data sales, booked locally by large tech firms. The tax was projected to bring the government about 1 billion euros in 2021.

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo, editing by Inti Landauro and John Stonestreet)

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