2026

Trump threatens 100% tariff on any country that imposes digital services tax

This article reports that President Trump threatened a 100% tariff on goods from any country imposing a digital services tax on U.S. companies. The article links the threat to France’s existing digital services tax on revenues from online marketplaces and advertising, as well as broader U.S. objections to European DSTs that the U.S. Trade Representative has argued discriminate against American technology companies.

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Government R&D Tax Supports Doubled in 20 Years, OECD Finds
Tax incentives now account for 60 percent of government support for business R&D across OECD countries, up from 28 percent in 2004, according to an updated OECD database covering 56 countries. The data also show R&D tax relief has tripled as a share of government budget allocations, with Portugal, Iceland, the U.K., France, and China leading in tax relief as a share of GDP.
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Trump Threatens 100% Tariff on European Countries That Impose Digital Services Tax
President Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on goods from any European country that enacts a Digital Services Tax on U.S. tech companies, warning the levy would supersede the existing EU-U.S. trade deal. The threat raises fresh trade tensions a day after the EU approved tariff reductions under that agreement, and comes amid legal uncertainty over whether Trump has the authority to impose such tariffs immediately.
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ECJ Adviser Backs EU Probe Into Mead Johnson Gibraltar Tax Break (06/25/2026)

The European Court of Justice should back the European Commission’s decision to extend a state aid investigation into whether a Gibraltar entity of the Mead Johnson Nutrition group received preferential tax treatment, an adviser to the court wrote on June 25, 2026.

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Tax Simplification Gains Outweigh Revenue Losses, Hoekstra Says
EU Tax Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra defended the European Commission's tax simplification omnibus, which promises to save companies €8 billion by reducing duplicative reporting and easing pillar 2-related antiabuse obligations, arguing the package's budgetary impact on member states is negligible by comparison. Hoekstra also signaled openness to an EU-wide digital services tax as a potential future revenue source if pillar 1 negotiations fail, while cautioning against reading broader harmonization ambitions into the proposal.
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EU’s DAC Recast Facilitates Future Pillar 2 Reporting Changes
The European Commission's proposed recast of the EU's administrative cooperation directives would consolidate all DAC rules into a single framework, cut €1.283 billion in compliance costs, and empower the commission to adopt implementing acts to align EU rules with future OECD GLOBE information return updates without requiring unanimous legislative amendments. Key changes include easing DAC6 reporting burdens for pillar 2 in-scope multinationals, raising DAC7 digital platform reporting thresholds, and streamlining DAC4 and DAC9 notification requirements.
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Pillar 2 Reshuffles the Cards of EU Antiabuse Rules
The European Commission's tax simplification omnibus proposes sweeping changes to EU antiabuse rules, including exempting pillar 2 companies from controlled foreign company rules, mandating a €3 million interest deduction threshold, and introducing a full withholding tax exemption on intragroup interest, royalties, and dividends effective 2037. The package also introduces a minimum R&D allowance standard within the ATAD, with the commission citing pillar 2 as justification for rolling back overlapping antiabuse measures that risk creating double taxation.
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Italy Reports DST Surge, Weak Global Minimum Tax Revenue
Italy's Court of Auditors reported that the country's digital services tax generated €637 million in 2025, a 40 percent increase from the prior year, while its first-year global minimum tax revenue came in at just €46 million against a forecast of €381 million. The report also noted continued growth in Italy's flat tax regime for high-net-worth individuals relocating to Italy, with the annual substitute tax now set at €300,000 following successive increases.
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OECD Aware of Issues With Pillar 2 and Investment Treaties
OECD officials and tax experts warned that bilateral investment treaty protections in many countries could complicate or trigger arbitration against states implementing qualified domestic minimum top-up taxes, with one analysis suggesting 90 percent of existing investment treaties could expose such measures to investor challenges. The inclusive framework is working toward a coordinated solution, while multinationals and host countries weigh restructuring investments or renegotiating agreements to avoid disputes.
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AI Has No Place in Global Digital Tax Talks, US Official Says (06/23/2026) Author: Lauren Vella

Artificial intelligence doesn’t belong in the OECD-led discussions about taxing the digital economy, the top US delegate to the organization said on June 23, 2026.

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