India's experience in taxing foreign digital platforms is a mixed bag

Media reports have pegged the aggregate Equalisation Levy collections between Rs 10 billion to Rs 30 billion

In 2016, India was one of the first countries globally to impose Equalisation Levy, a direct tax that is withheld at the time of payment by the service recipient. The idea was to bring foreign digital platforms, such as Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, into the tax net. The user base of these platforms in India is a sizable contributor to their revenues. The government has sought to have a fair share of the profits, in the form of taxes. Neeru Ahuja, partner, Deloitte India, explains the challenges in the exercise

Why do revenue authorities find it challenging to tax foreign