Digital taxes are in force in Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Turkey (7.5%). In most countries they are 2-3% and generate millions in profits. Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski announced work on the tax in Poland, citing solutions adopted in other countries.
“The Ministry of Digitization is working on a digital tax that would introduce more money into the state budget from large corporations that work here,” said Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of Digitization Krzysztof Gawkowski.
He noted that the digital tax operates in other European Union countries, such as France, Italy, Spain, Austria , but also outside the EU – in Great Britain.
The French parliament approved a 3% tax on the turnover of multinational technology companies with global revenues exceeding €750 million per year and revenues in France exceeding €25 million per year in July 2019. The tax operates under the acronym GAFA, for Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple – which it mainly concerns. In 2023, the tax brought France revenues of €700 million , and in 2024 it was assumed to increase to €800 million.
The Belgian federal government – as part of the coalition agreement – has committed to introducing a 3% digital services tax by 2027. The tax is to cover companies generating revenues from, among other things, online advertising and platforms enabling users to interact online, as well as trade or exchange goods and services online.
In Italy , a 3% digital tax has been in force since 2020. It applies to revenues from online activities, such as advertising, sales, or running social media sites. It was introduced with technology giants in mind (Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook), whose combined annual profits in Italy amount to several billion euros. From 2025, the threshold above which the tax was levied has been abolished. Previously, it covered companies with global revenues exceeding 750 million euros, and in Italy – 5.5 million euros.
The UK introduced a 2% digital tax in 2020. It applies to businesses with global digital revenues of more than £500m (just under €600m), of which at least £25m (just under €30m) comes from UK users. In 2021, the tax raised £358m (426m) for the UK Treasury, 30% more than forecast, with 90% of the funds coming from five business groups.
Norway has not introduced a digital tax system for companies that do not have their registered office in the country. Those that are Norwegian taxpayers pay the fees due under the general rules.
A few years ago, Finland opposed the European Commission's proposal to introduce a digital tax, arguing that such a solution could negatively affect, among other things, the Finnish gaming industry, which is one of the largest in Europe and crucial to the Finnish economy.
Sweden also has not introduced a digital tax. As reported by the media, the local Facebook branch (Meta), despite high advertising revenues, pays less tax than a kiosk located in the same office building where its headquarters is located.
Discussions about the digital tax are also ongoing in Latvia . According to research conducted in 2019 on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, introducing a 3% tax could bring the budget an additional 17-30 million euros. Despite this, no further legislative action has been taken on the matter.
In Austria , the digital tax has been in force since 2020; it applies only to online advertising, amounts to 5% and covers companies with a global turnover of at least EUR 750 million and a domestic turnover of at least EUR 25 million.
In Turkey , a 7.5% tax on gross revenue from digital services was introduced in 2020. This applies to revenues exceeding EUR 750 million (worldwide) or 20 million liras (currently around EUR 500,000) in a fiscal year. Taxes include digital advertising services and the sale of digital content.
In Israel , the basic corporate tax rate is 23 percent, but most large technology companies benefit from tax breaks that are “intended to encourage them to invest in the country.” According to the Times of Israel, corporations such as Intel, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon pay only 5 percent in corporate tax in real terms. Sales of digital services are subject to an 18 percent VAT.
The authorities have been considering imposing a 3-5 percent turnover tax on tech giants for several years. The government has also announced that from 2026, Israel will join an international initiative introducing a minimum income tax of 15 percent for international corporations. Modern technology is a key sector of the Israeli economy, accounting for about 20 percent of GDP and over 50 percent of exports.
In Japan, a 10 percent consumption tax on cross-border sales of electronic services has been in force since 2015 for revenues exceeding the equivalent of approximately PLN 260,000. It applies to services such as e-books, streaming media, applications, cloud-based services and online games, and the publication of online advertisements.
In South Korea, VAT is levied at 10% without a minimum threshold. In Taiwan, on the other hand, it is a business tax on e-services at 5% on revenues above the equivalent of PLN 56,000.
China has not yet adopted appropriate regulations.
The US also has no digital tax . President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet have repeatedly in recent weeks presented digital taxes imposed by European countries and EU regulations and penalties for American companies as examples of unfair treatment of the US by the European Union. Trump and his Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, have announced that these trade barriers, like the VAT, will be taken into account when imposing tariffs on the EU to level the playing field.
The 3% digital tax (DSTA) was introduced in 2024 in Canada . Before it, there was another form of mandatory fees imposed on companies operating on digital platforms. It was introduced by the Online News Act of 2023, which required platforms with 20 million monthly users and annual revenues of over 1 billion Canadian dollars (639 million euros) to pay compensation to editorial offices.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday that a tax on big tech may or may not be imposed.
“Today, we are dealing with new trends in the world when it comes to customs and tax policy, and in line with this new trend I can say: maybe we will impose these taxes, or maybe we will not,” Tusk said.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Andrzej Domański reminded PAP that tax policy is shaped by the Ministry of Finance and that the ministry is not currently working on a digital tax. (PAP)
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