“The United States urges Canada to abandon any plans for a unilateral measure and instead redouble its commitment to the rapid implementation of pillar one of the October 8 OECD/G20 agreement and the completion of a multilateral convention in 2022,” the USTR said.
“Should Canada adopt a DST, USTR would examine all options, including under our trade agreements and domestic statutes.”
Canada’s proposed digital services tax, if enacted, would see companies that earn over €750 million globally and CA$20 million in Canada per fiscal year be slapped with a 3% tax “on revenue from certain digital services”.
These revenues include those earned from online marketplace services, online advertising services, social media services, and user data.
The levy would apply retroactively from the start of this year, though it would not go into effect until 2024 if it is enacted, the USTR said.
In June last year, the USTR issued suspended tariffs on countries that charged digital services taxes in a bid to have those taxes scrapped. The tariffs were eventually set aside after 136 countries agreed to a 15% multinational corporate tax rate under the OECD/G20 agreement.
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