France seeks German help to bring tax-dodging corporate behemoths to heel
Paris — France is working with Germany and other partners to plug loopholes that have allowed US tech giants like Alphabet’s Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.com to minimise taxes and grab market share in Europe at the expense of the continent’s own companies. France will propose the "simpler rules" for a "real taxation" of tech firms at a meeting of European Union officials set for mid-September in Tallinn, Estonia, French Finance Minister Bruno le Maire said in an interview in his Paris office on Friday, complaining that Europe-wide initiatives were proving too slow. "Europe must learn to defend its economic interest much more firmly — China does it, the US does it," Le Maire said. "You cannot take the benefit of doing business in France or in Europe without paying the taxes that other companies — French or European companies — are paying." The push reflects mounting frustration among some governments, regulators and, indeed, voters, at the way international firms sidestep taxes...
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