The implementation of a French tax that would have affected Apple and other major tech firms is to be delayed. The 3 percent tariff will not be enforced whilst France and the U.S. continue trade talks, AppleInsider reported.
Originally proposed in December of 2018, the so-called GAFA – Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon – tax, had been given a stamp of approval by the French senate in July of 2019. The tax would have been applied retroactively. Under the measure, the 3% sales tax would be applied to sales generated in France by major multinational firms. France has pulled back on demanding the retroactive down payments temporarily, in an effort to prevent the U.S. from applying tariffs to French-made goods. “What we’re proposing is to give ourselves time and to show our goodwill, to postpone the remaining payments to December,” a French Finance Ministry source said, according to Reuters. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are due to negotiate the details in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, the source added.
Check It Out: Trade War Truce Means France Will Not Yet Apply Tariff on Apple And Other Tech Firms