US government files official protest against the Czech digital tax

The US government has filed an official protest against the planned 7% digital tax in the Czech Republic, according to Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, the Czech News Agency (CNA) reported on January 24. The Czech Republic could face counter-measures by the US if it introduces the tax, US embassy spokesperson Eda Findlay said in a response to the decision of the Czech parliament to approve the new tax proposal in the first reading on January 22. Petricek said that he understood the US position; however, “on the other hand, we are trying to explain that this step is only temporary until the international solution is found,” the minister added. “The US government has clearly formulated its position on the topic of digital taxation. Ambassador King [the US ambassador to the Czech Republic] expressed this opinion in his December commentary and the US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin also talked about this topic to the media this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos,” Findlay told CNA.