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    EU puts digital levy plans on hold in face of U.S. criticism

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1170 Views
    United States Secretary of the treasury Janet Yellen speaks during a press conference at a G20 Economy, Finance ministers and Central bank governors' meeting in Venice, Italy, Sunday, July 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
    BRUSSELS (AP) --

    The European Union has put on hold work on plans for a digital levy for the moment to concentrate on finalizing the historic tax decision endorsed by the Group of 20 nations over the weekend, officials said Monday.

    In the face of U.S. criticism, the European Commission said that its work on the levy that would hit American technology companies would go on ice to allow for smooth cooperation on the political and technical hurdles that still need to be addressed on the G-20 tax decision before the end of October. 

    "Successfully concluding this will require a final effort, a final push from all parties. And the (EU) Commission is committed to focusing on that effort," EU spokesman Dan Ferrie said. "For this reason, we have decided to put on hold our work on a proposal for a digital levy as a new EU resource during this period."

    Finance ministers from the G-20 major economies endorsed a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15%, a measure aimed at putting a floor under tax rates and discouraging companies from using low-rate countries as tax havens. 

    The global minimum proposal faces political and technical hurdles before it would take effect. Details are to be ironed out in coming weeks at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, followed by a final endorsement by G-20 presidents and prime ministers at an Oct. 30-31 meeting in Rome. 

    Countries would then need to legislate the rate into their own laws. The idea is for headquarters countries to tax their companies' foreign earnings at home if those earnings go untaxed in low-rate countries. That would remove the reason for using complex accounting schemes to move profits to subsidiaries in low-tax nations, and where the companies may do little or no actual business.

    Outside that context, The EU has also tried to focus on companies that make profits in countries where they have no physical presence. That could be through digital advertising or online retail. Countries led by France have started imposing unilateral "digital" taxes that hit the biggest U.S. tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Facebook. 

    The U.S. calls those unfair trade practices, and has threatened retaliation through import taxes.

    The European Commission's announcement came as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was meeting with Eurozone counterparts and high-level EU officials. 

     

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    Tags:digital levyEUEuropean UnionG-20



    As the world rediscovers “The Odyssey,” disabled actors in Greece explore the pain of war

    Sunday, August 9, 2026
    From left to right, Eirini Kourouvani, a wheelchair dancer, Evi Saoulidou and Lydia Fotopoulou perform during a dress rehearsal of Euripides' tragedy The Trojan Women, staged by the National Theatre of Greece, at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, Greece, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

    As Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" renews global fascination with Homer, a cast of disabled and non-disabled performers in Greece is staging the war's other story.

    It's not about the triumph of returning heroes, but the suffering they left behind.

    "The Trojan Women," with a cast of 22, was staged at Epidaurus, the ancient open-air stone arena in southern Greece. It marked what organizers called the first fully accessible performance in the ancient theater's 2,300-year history.

    While Homer followed warriors sailing home from Troy, the playwright Euripides — writing some three centuries later — turned to the city's ruins and its women, forced into exile and enslavement.

    The ancient theater offered a full range of accessibility services for the Aug. 2 performance. Blind audience members received Braille programs, tactile models and live audio description, while deaf spectators followed overhead titles. Physical adaptations also improved access throughout the site.

    "It's the first time a performance at Ancient Epidaurus has been made accessible to everyone," said Greg Polychronidis, a Paralympic gold medalist who attended the event. "Today was a celebration of equality and it should serve as an example for everyone, forever."

    For many of the performers, standing on the ancient stage was itself part of the message: a voice for those often overlooked. Eirini Kourouvani, a 58-year-old cast member who uses a wheelchair, had never set foot inside the theater before.

    "It is just grand," she said. "I feel my heart opening up as wide as this theater is."

    Ioanna-Maria Gertsou, a blind psychologist, attended with Babu, her guide dog.

    "We too have the right to attend performances on an equal footing," she said,... Read More

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