France to apply digital tax this year whether United States returns to negotiations or not

French Economy and Finance Minister Le Maire at a press conference on June 10 in Paris, France. On June 18 he called a decision by the United States to pull out of talks on new tax rules on digital companies a 'provocation'.— Ludovic Marin/Pool/Reuters

PARIS: France will apply taxes on digital services this year whether the United States returns to negotiations on the issue or not, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on June 18, calling a decision by Washington to pull out of talks a "provocation".

The United States announced on June 17 that it was withdrawing from negotiations with European countries over new global tax rules on digital companies, saying the talks had failed to make any progress.