Brussels looks to capture Big Tech through tax on large corporations
The European Commission is exploring a way to tax US Big Tech groups such as Apple, Meta and Google through a broad levy on all large corporations, raising EU revenue without singling out digital services groups and provoking the Trump administration, which has threatened retaliation against digital services levies, according to six officials with knowledge of the discussions. The idea is to modify the existing “Corporate Resource for Europe” (Core) proposal, which as drafted charges an annual lump sum to every company operating in the EU with revenue above €100mn and would capture only a small slice of multinationals’ earnings; raising the thresholds so only very large corporates pay would raise more from tech groups and answer complaints that Core hits medium-sized European companies. It would apply to all sectors, not just digital, and details are still under discussion. One EU official said some capitals oppose a pure digital tax so as not to upset the Americans and many more oppose Core, so the fix is to expand it to “pretty much all the big companies”. Core is one of five new “own resources” meant to raise about €60bn a year from 2028, amid talks over the shared EU budget and domestic spending limits while global efforts to tax multinationals stall. Context: the 2021 OECD deal hit a wall after Trump’s 2024 re-election (in effect “dead”, per an EU official); the EU shelved its own digital levy to make room for that global deal; officials say a digital-only tax is unlikely to win enough support for fear of US retaliation; and France, Italy, Spain and Austria, which have national digital levies, face US Section 301 investigations that could lead to tariffs. Caveats: a majority of EU countries currently oppose Core; higher thresholds might win more backing, but any change needs unanimity of all 27. The Commission declined to comment on the plan, though a spokesperson said it is ready to help Council and Parliament agree the new own-resources package “this year”, calling it essential to financing joint priorities over the next decade; CCIA, which represents several US Big Tech firms, declined to comment.
Why it matters
A sector-neutral EU levy built to reach US Big Tech without a digital-services label would reshape transatlantic tech-tax friction — and where the revenue threshold lands decides whether European scale-ups and mid-sized tech companies are swept in or spared.
Executive takeaways
Plan: tax US Big Tech (Apple, Meta, Google) via a broad levy on all large corporations rather than a digital services tax — per six officials. | • Mechanism: modify the Core proposal (annual lump sum on every EU-operating company with revenue above €100mn) by raising thresholds so only very large corporates pay. | • Scope: all sectors, not just digital; details still under discussion; would also answer complaints that Core hits medium-sized European companies. | • Money: Core is one of five new own resources meant to raise about €60bn a year from 2028. | • Politics: a majority of EU states currently oppose Core; any change needs unanimity of all 27; a digital-only tax is seen as unlikely for fear of US retaliation. | • Backdrop: 2021 OECD deal in effect “dead” after Trump’s re-election; France, Italy, Spain and Austria face US Section 301 probes over national digital levies.
What Financial Times may be missing
The piece gives no proposed new threshold, rate or lump-sum amounts, so it is impossible to estimate how much more Big Tech would pay or which European companies would still be caught, and it does not break down how much of the ~€60bn own-resources target Core itself would raise. It does not test the plan’s central bet — whether the Trump administration would accept a sector-neutral levy calibrated to capture tech groups, or treat it as a disguised digital tax — nor explain how it would interact with the national digital levies in France, Italy, Spain and Austria. Which member states oppose Core, and why, is not detailed, and the effect on European scale-ups approaching the threshold or on the EU’s attractiveness for large investors is not examined. Sourcing rests on anonymous officials, with the Commission declining to comment on the specific idea.
