The European Commission is in the process of examining the possibility of collecting more money from American Big Tech companies such as Apple, Meta and Google. According to information from the Financial Times, which cites six officials familiar with the discussions, the Commission plans to achieve this goal by introducing a charge on large companies as a whole.
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This strategy aims to avoid a tax that would target technology companies exclusively, which could provoke a backlash from the Trump administration.
The plan builds on an existing proposal called the Corporate Resource for Europe , or CORE. Under CORE, any company in the EU with an annual revenue of more than €100 million would have to pay a lump sum each year to the EU budget. Currently, these payments range from €100,000 to €750,000 a year. For large multinationals, this amount is only a small part of their profits, which is why Brussels is looking at ways to increase the amount collected.
Taxing Big Tech is a sensitive issue for Washington. President Donald Trump has often criticized EU rules on big tech companies, and previous digital tax plans in Europe have stalled due to threats of trade retaliation from the US. The Commission introduced CORE in July 2025 as part of its search for new sources of revenue for the EU.
According to Reuters, leaked plans from that time showed that the digital tax targeting US technology companies was abandoned in favor of a broader levy.
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The proposal to introduce a general levy, rather than a purely digital tax, aims to reduce tensions with the United States while also increasing EU revenue. However, the plan is not without opposition. “Some European capitals oppose a purely digital tax because they don’t want to upset the Americans, and many more oppose CORE,” an EU official told the FT.
The official suggested expanding the burden to include almost all major companies. That way, Brussels could target tech giants without directly naming them.
The challenge for the EU is to find a balance between the need to raise revenue and avoiding diplomatic tensions with the United States. Any EU tax plan must be approved by all 27 member states, so each government has the power to veto it. This means the Commission must negotiate carefully to secure the support of all EU members, which can prove difficult given the different economic interests and political priorities of member states.
Taxing big tech companies is not just a matter of economic policy, but also a question of fairness and equity. Multinational companies are often accused of exploiting loopholes in tax laws to reduce their tax liabilities, raising concerns about the unfair distribution of the tax burden. The EU, through CORE, seeks to address these concerns while ensuring that big companies contribute fairly to the Union budget.
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Overall, the EU's effort to increase taxation of large companies, including tech giants, is part of a broader strategy to strengthen the Union's economic independence and sustainability. The success of this initiative will depend on the ability of the European institutions to manage the internal and external challenges that accompany the implementation of such a policy.
