Amazon, Trump Agree On Something: New French Taxes

President Donald Trump's public feud with Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and its CEO Jeff Bezos is well-known.

Yet the two appear to have found common ground: opposing a new digital tax on tech companies in France, CNBC reported.

What Happened

France's Senate approved a new 3% tax that applies to revenue collected by around 30 major companies operating in the country, CNBC said. Most of the companies are from the U.S., which prompted the Trump administration to say the levy "unfairly targets American companies."

France is taking the position as a sovereign country that it "decides its own tax rules" and "this will continue to be the case," France's Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire was quoted by CNBC as saying in a statement.

Why It's Important

Amazon said the new French tax is "poorly constructed" and "discriminatory" and will cause "significant harm" to both American and French consumers. 

"We applaud the Trump Administration for taking decisive action against France and for signaling to all of America's trading partners that the U.S. government will not acquiesce to tax and trade policies that discriminate against American businesses," the Amazon statement said.

What's Next

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the federal government will look into the law to determine if it is "discriminatory or unreasonable and burdens or restricts United States commerce," according to CNBC. 

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Posted In: GovernmentNewsRegulationsEurozoneMarketsMediaCNBCDigital TaxDonald TrumpJeff Bezos
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