Italy Joins US To Oppose 'Discriminatory' Digital Taxes On Big Tech Giants Like Apple, Amazon, Google, And Meta

Italy has joined the U.S. in opposing taxes on digital services, signaling a shift in its stance on a tax levied against major tech companies, including Apple Inc. AAPL, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google, and Facebook-parent Meta Platforms, Inc. META.

What Happened: On Friday, Italy and the U.S. issued a joint statement condemning “discriminatory” digital taxes, reported Reuters.

In a statement following Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's meeting with President Joe Biden, the two nations agreed that a non-discriminatory environment for digital service taxation was essential for fostering investment from innovative tech companies.

"We agreed that a non-discriminatory environment in terms of digital services taxation is necessary to enable investments from cutting-edge tech companies," said the statement released after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the White House on Thursday.

European taxes targeting major U.S. tech firms like Alphabet’s Google, Meta’s Facebook, Apple, and Amazon have long been a point of contention for U.S. administrations, including during Donald Trump’s presidency.

Italy currently imposes a 3% tax on revenue from online transactions for digital companies with global sales of at least 750 million euros ($853.35 million), though the measure generates less than 500 million euros annually for the Italian government.

Although the tax brings in a relatively modest amount of revenue in a country with total budget spending exceeding 800 billion euros, Italy's digital levy remains a politically sensitive issue for Meloni.

While the joint statement did not specify whether Italy would completely scrap its 3% tax on digital revenue, it marked a significant shift in Italy's approach. It also said that Trump will be visiting Italy in the future, the report noted.

Why It’s Important: The joint statement between Italy and the U.S. comes amid a backdrop of ongoing trade tensions between the EU and the U.S.

The EU has been considering additional taxes on U.S. tech giants if tariff negotiations with the Trump administration do not resolve. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has indicated that the EU is prepared to expand the trade war to include services, potentially taxing digital advertising revenues.

Kevin O’Leary, known for his role on "Shark Tank," previously argued that the EU's "zero-for-zero" tariff proposal on industrial goods presented a major chance for President Trump to ease trade tensions.

Meanwhile, the EU and China agreed to explore setting minimum prices for Chinese-made electric vehicles as an alternative to the tariffs introduced last year.

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