Overview

• Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer’s office is finalizing a draft bill that would impose a 10% levy on major platform operators with multi-billion-euro revenues.
• The proposal builds on Austria’s five percent digital tax but extends the charge to a wider array of media and advertising revenues.
• Funds raised by the levy are earmarked to strengthen media diversity and support cultural institutions across Germany.
• Officials say the measure aims to curb skillful tax avoidance by internet giants but may heighten tensions in the ongoing US-EU trade dispute.
• Union, SPD and Greens have expressed broad support for the initiative, although some ministers reported that its public announcement outpaced full government coordination.