Paris (AFP)

France has made "proposals" to the United States, including the principle of a "step by step" progression, to rally them to the international agreement under negotiation at the OECD on digital taxation, announced Friday French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire.

"There are possibilities that can be used, we are working on it with (the American secretary of the Treasury) Steven Mnuchin. I made him a certain number of proposals," said the French minister during a press point at the from a meeting with the Secretary General of the OECD Angel Gurria.

He did not want to detail the content of these proposals, nor to specify if France would make a gesture on the tax set up last year on the digital giants and which pushed Washington to threaten to overtax several billion dollars of French products.

"We will keep them for ourselves at the moment, but I think there is a possible way of compromise between the United States and France on this subject, which will allow everyone to move towards this solution which is the only one reasonable: an international solution to the OECD, "he said.

On January 7, the United States and France had given themselves fifteen days to reach an agreement and thus allow the continuation of work at the OECD on the establishment of international taxation of digital giants.

Bruno Le Maire is due to meet Steven Mnuchin in Davos on Wednesday with the hope of announcing such an agreement. A meeting attended by Mr. Gurria.

During a joint press point, MM. The Mayor and Gurria indicated that they were open to progress "by stage", with a first step which would be "a global agreement on the framework of this taxation" on the basis of the text negotiated at the OECD.

If the Americans give the green light, this agreement must in principle be approved at the end of January by the members of the international organization.

The discussion would then continue until June on the "parameters of this taxation", before "an implementation which could take place a little later", detailed Mr. Le Maire.

"It can be one of the possible exit points," he added, insisting that the French tax will remain in place until the entry into force of international taxation.

Mr. Gurria praised for his part "the opportunity opened" by the meeting planned in Davos, recalling that the OECD "does not plan B", to the digital taxation project currently on the table.

© 2020 AFP