Germany still aims for ‘fair taxation’ of Internet companies: finance ministry

The Google logo adorns the entrance of Google Germany headquarters in Hamburg, Germany July 11, 2016. REUTERS/Morris Mac Matzen/Files

BERLIN: The German finance ministry denied a newspaper report on Sept 5 that Finance Minister Olaf Scholz had given up on plans to make Internet giants, including Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, pay more tax.

The top-selling Bild newspaper, citing a confidential finance ministry document, reported that Scholz had abandoned plans to hike taxes for big digital companies because a “demonisation” of the firms was seen as “not productive”.