US president Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters
Bloomberg
French lawmakers voted to double the country’s tax on large technology companies, risking a backlash from US president Donald Trump who has long threatened to retaliate against the measure with trade tariffs.
France’s lower house of parliament adopted an amendment to the 2026 budget bill that would potentially raise the levy on the digital revenues of firms like Amazon, Google owner Alphabet and Facebook owner Meta Platforms from 3pc to 6pc.
The change is softer than another proposal to increase the rate to 15pc, but it would mark a considerable increase in a levy that has for years exacerbated transatlantic trade tensions.
US Republican lawmakers have already warned that a hike to 15pc would be an “unwarranted attack” on American tech companies and leave “Congress and the Trump administration with little choice but to pursue aggressive retaliatory actions”.
The amendment is for one part of a budget bill to be voted possibly next month or in December, and is not guaranteed to ultimately become law. The outcome is unpredictable as the French government has no majority in parliament and has said it won’t use constitutional tools to bypass votes, effectively ceding more control to lawmakers over financial legislation.
“In reality, we are at the very start of the parliamentary process – the draft being debated and the votes that have already happened are not the final version,” government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said after a cabinet meeting. “There is still time and debate should continue calmly.”
Finance minister Roland Lescure said he is cautious about the change to digital taxation and would continue to work with parliament, even as the proposed amendment for the 6pc rate came from lawmakers in president Emmanuel Macron’s party.
“I take note of parliament’s desire to strengthen the tax on digital giants,” Mr Lescure said. “This is a matter that must be handled with care, particularly regarding the increase of thresholds, and on which we must make progress at the European level and through international discussion.”
The French government is under pressure to find measures to rein in what has become the largest deficit in the euro area. Adding to the difficulties, opposition parties are threatening to oust prime minister Sebastien Lecornu in no-confidence votes in the coming weeks if there aren’t significant increases in taxes on big business and the wealthiest individuals.
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