Germany is reportedly considering imposing a 10% tax on some major online platforms, including Alphabet’s Google and Meta’s Facebook. Last week, Reuters reported that Germany’s new Minister of State for Culture, Wolfram Weimer, confirmed the government’s upcoming move to the magazine Stern.

Per the report, the proposal comes ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. It’s worth noting that the travel plan hasn’t been officially confirmed yet by the German government. The news outlet further reported that Germany’s move to tax companies like Google and Meta could escalate the trade tensions with the Trump administration.

In the past, Trump has expressed his disapproval of foreign governments taxing U.S. companies. He had pledged not to let them “appropriate America’s tax base for their own benefit.” Weimer further said that officials are drafting a legislative proposal to tax platforms like Google and Meta. The Culture Minister also told Stern that officials are willing to talk to these companies directly to explore alternative options. Per the report, it might include voluntary contributions.

Speaking with Stern, Weimer said, “These corporations do billions in business in Germany with extremely high profit margins and benefit enormously from the country’s media and cultural output, as well as its infrastructure — but they pay hardly any taxes, invest too little, and give far too little back to society.“

All that said, the German government hasn’t yet agreed on Weimer’s proposal. If Germany goes ahead with the plan to tax major tech companies like Google and Meta, it has to tax their sales revenue generated within the country’s borders. Doing so, Germany will join the list of countries like France, Spain, India, Austria, and others who have done the same thing in the past.

Weimer has accused these platforms of monopolistic structures

Not to forget, Weimer has also accused companies like Google and Meta of building up “monopoly-like structures.” He believes that this not only blocks competitors but also “concentrates media power too heavily.” Only time will tell if Germany taxes these companies. If it does, it’ll be interesting to see how Trump reacts.

This article first appeared on Android Headlines

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