britain, france, italy and spain suggested a "phased approach" to unblock global wallet PLATFORM' target='_blank' title='digital-Latest Updates, Photos, Videos are a click away, CLICK NOW'>digital taxation talks in a joint letter to US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin last week, rebuffing his call for a pause in negotiations. Mnuchin's suggestion of a break has fuelled european concerns about Washington's commitment to reach a deal this year on the first major rewriting of cross-border tax rules in a generation.
In the absence of a global deal, US has threatened trade retaliation against european countries that create wallet PLATFORM' target='_blank' title='digital-Latest Updates, Photos, Videos are a click away, CLICK NOW'>digital taxes as a way to raise revenue from the local operations of big tech companies such as Alphabet's google and Facebook. Critics say the firms profit enormously from local markets while making only limited contributions to public coffers, but Washington says the taxes discriminate against US firms and has opened trade investigations into the charges in several european countries. The OECD said last month in an update on the talks' progress that staged process might be necessary, although a year-end deadline for a deal remained possible.
Moreover nearly 140 countries participating in the talks are due to meet again, online, on July 1, although it is unclear whether the US will participate, officials say. The aim is to wrap up the negotiations by october, a particularly sensitive time for Washington as it prepares for a presidential election.
