Digital news publishers urge Centre to reimpose equalisation levy

Indian digital news publishers recently urged the Centre to reconsider the withdrawal of the equalisation levy of 6 per cent on foreign digital companies generating substantial revenues from the domestic market.   In a formal representation to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union information & broadcasting minister, they said the levy’s withdrawal has created an uneven playing field in the ecosystem, with the balance now heavily tilted in favour of foreign technology platforms which also distribute news, directly or indirectly.   The publishers pointed out that several countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain, continue to enforce digital services taxes or similar measures as interim solutions until the global ‘Pillar One’ framework under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the G20 is fully operational.   In contrast, the absence of such a mechanism in India exposes domestic publishers to a significant disadvantage, despite being one of the largest digital markets in the world.   “Indian digital publishers are committed partners in the government’s vision of Digital India, Make in India, and Atmanirbhar Bharat,” the statement said. “However, long-term sustainability requires an equitable regulatory and fiscal environment. Without a measure like the equalisation levy, foreign platforms continue to reap the benefits of the Indian market without contributing proportionately, while domestic publishers bear the costs of quality journalism and content creation,” it added.   The publishers also raised concerns about growing anti-competitive practices of big technology platforms and the misuse of their content through unauthorised data scraping by large artificial intelligence (AI) corporations.