In a release issued on January 14, the USTR said that the each one of these digital services taxes discriminates against US companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of international taxation, and burden or restricts US commerce.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has found that the digital services taxes adopted by Austria, Spain and the UK are discriminatory in nature.
The findings were issued in Section 301 investigations of the digital service taxes adopted by these countries.
In a release issued on January 14, the USTR said that the each one of these digital services taxes discriminates against US companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of international taxation, and burden or restricts US commerce.
USTR said that it is not “taking any specific actions in connection with the findings at this time but will continue to evaluate all available options.”
The Section 301 investigations of the DSTs adopted by Austria, Spain, and the UK were initiated in June 2020, along with investigations of DSTs adopted or under consideration by several other jurisdictions.
On January 6, 2021, USTR announced broadly similar findings in the investigations of DSTs adopted by India, Italy, and Turkey.
“The taxation of companies that engage in international trade in goods and services is an important issue. The best outcome would be for countries to come together to find a solution,” Robert Lighthizer of USTR said.
The reports, Federal Register notices summarizing the determinations, and the status update are available on USTR’s website.
The author is Alex Hunter, Editor, TP News. He oversees and updates the publication and also  regularly writes news stories about transfer pricing and international tax law. Alex is reachable at editor@transferpricingnews.com
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