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United States and five European countries have settled disputes over digital taxes against global companies such as Google. The digital tax is a separate tax on domestic sales in addition to the corporate tax.



Reporter Park Won-kyung reports.



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U.S. has reached an agreement on digital tax discussions with five European countries, including Britain and France.



According to foreign media reports, the United States and five European countries have agreed to replace each country's existing tax system with the OECD-level digital tax, which is scheduled to be introduced in 2023, and will maintain the existing tax until then.



However, after the introduction of the digital tax at the international level, if it is confirmed that excess tax revenue is generated due to each country's existing tax, it is decided to proceed with the refund procedure.



The United States has agreed to lift retaliatory tariffs pending on five European countries.



The digital tax is a tax levied separately from corporate tax on the domestic sales of global IT companies such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook.



Discussions on the introduction of IT companies have been underway internationally amid criticism that IT companies have established corporations in countries with low tax rates or tax havens and do not pay taxes to countries where they actually earn money.



France has already established its own digital tax, which generates 470 billion won in annual tax revenue.



The U.S. considered the introduction of the digital tax under former President Trump as an unfair act against U.S. companies and announced a policy of imposing retaliatory tariffs.



Deputy Prime Minister of Economy Hong Nam-ki predicted that Korea's tax revenue would increase slightly if the digital tax was introduced.