Eurozone to discuss digital tax

European Union finance ministers will discuss a watered-down proposal on an EU-wide digital tax on Nov 6, trying to persuade reticent governments to agree on the plan by the end of the year.

Under a proposal from the European Commission in March, EU states would charge a 3 percent levy on the digital turnover of large firms such as Google and Facebook that are accused of routing their profits to the bloc's low-tax states.

Britain has said on Oct 29 it would tax the revenue that online platforms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon make in the country to update a system that had not kept pace with changing digital business models. And the tax will come into effect from 2020.

Technology company chiefs have warned that a digital services tax proposed by the European Union would hinder innovation and hurt economic growth.