World can't agree on taxing web giants, OECD says

The OECD today warned that countries have failed to reach a consensus on how to tax technology giants like Apple and Google, with the US and EU at odds as fears grow of a trade war.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a club of rich nations, was unveiling a report requested by the G20 ahead of a meeting of its finance ministers next week.

"There are divergent views on how the issue should be approached," the OECD said, adding there was no agreement on how to approach such taxes in either the short or long term.

The group pledged that its member countries "will work together towards a consensus-based solution".

In particular the report flagged conflicting approaches in the US and European Union, which come as President Donald Trump's moves to impose steel and aluminium tariffs fuel speculation of a looming trade war.

The United States has just passed tax reforms intended to coax its multinationals into paying more of their taxes at home, with iPhone maker Apple among the biggest beneficiaries.

The changes are set to allow Apple to bring back some USD 252 billion kept abroad, a longstanding company goal.

Brussels is meanwhile set to unveil a tax on technology multinationals next week aimed at recovering billions of European earnings from US-based giants diverted through low-tax countries.

The EU wants "big tech" to be taxed on overall revenue in the EU and not just on profits, somewhere between two percent and five percent according to a draft proposal obtained by AFP.

The plan will target companies with worldwide annual turnover above 750 million euros, including Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Twitter, Airbnb and Uber -- all based in the US.

EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has said the plan he will announce on Wednesday will "create a consensus and an electroshock" on taxing digital firms.

The question of how to tax web giants will also be high on the agenda at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires next Monday and Tuesday.