Germany considers 10% tax on Google and Meta – Wolfram Weimer says that alternatives are being discussed, but a legislative proposal is already in development. The reason for this, according to him, is that the tech giants engage in “cunning tax evasion” – in other words, they exploit loopholes in tax legislation.
The Nature of the Claim and Possible Consequences for Google and Meta
Wolfram Weimer shares with Stern magazine that his ministry is drafting a bill to introduce a 10% tax on the revenues of digital platforms such as Alphabet’s Google and Meta’s Facebook. At this stage, they are actively engaged in discussions with the companies, considering various settlement mechanisms such as “alternative solutions like voluntary contributions.”
“These corporations do billions in business in Germany with extremely high-profit margins and benefit enormously from the country’s media and cultural output as well as its infrastructure – but they pay hardly any taxes, invest too little, and give far too little back to society.”
In his interview, Weimer also expressed concern about the level of influence large digital platforms have over the information space, referring to “monopoly-like structures” and “concentrate media power too heavily”.
“If Google, under pressure from Donald Trump, unilaterally renames the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America – and simply decrees this due to its enormous power to shape meaning in global communication – then we can see the kinds of problems that lie within the current structures.”
All of this comes amid unresolved tariff issues between the U.S. and the EU, and expectations surrounding a possible visit by Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Washington for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
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Conclusion
This is all part of the ongoing tensions and the constantly shifting landscape of tariff conflicts, which, incidentally, are already producing measurable effects for the U.S. We will continue to closely monitor how the situation, actions, and counteractions evolve among the key players.
