European Commission to propose new tax rules for online sector in 2018

The European Commission will propose new rules next year to ensure that the online sector pays its fair share of taxes. The commission’s head, Jean-Claude Juncker, said on Friday in the  Estonian capital Tallinn: “We are of the opinion that in the digital sector, tax has to be paid where it is due, be it online or be it offline.” Critics say online firms such as Google or Facebook pay too little tax in the EU by routing profits to low-rate countries such as Luxembourg or Ireland. New rules will be proposed “on fair and effective taxation that provides legal certainty and a level playing field for all,” Reuters quoted Juncker as saying.