Germany Plans 10% Digital Tax on Tech Giants

The German government is formulating a plan to impose a 10% tax on global internet giants such as Meta and Google—a move that could further strain trade relations between Europe and the United States.

Germany’s federal commissioner for media and culture, Wolfram Weimer, told Stern magazine on Thursday that the new administration is drafting a digital levy targeting global internet platforms. However, alternatives are still under consideration, including voluntary commitments by the affected tech companies to pay more taxes in Germany.

Germany is taking the matter seriously, having already invited “Google's leadership and key industry representatives” to discuss potential tax alternatives, “including the possibility of voluntary commitments.” The proposed tax would likely target advertising revenues generated in Germany by digital platforms such as Google, and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, with the tax rate potentially reaching 10%.

A concrete draft law is currently being prepared, and “may” be modeled after Austria’s approach. The German government has praised the Austrian model. However, instead of Austria’s 5% rate, Germany’s tax could be higher. German authorities have previously considered a rate twice as high to be “reasonable and legal.”

German media organizations, including the Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers, have praised the initiative. They told German news agency DPA that they welcome efforts to “hold internet giants accountable.”

Weimer told Stern that the tax should apply to all tech platforms that generate “billions in revenue” in Germany while making use of editorial and cultural content produced by others.

According to Weimer, Austria’s experience shows that taxing advertising revenues did not lead to “significant price changes,” but it “did result in these companies ultimately paying a small portion of taxes back to society—meaning their enormous profit margins were slightly reduced.”