Spain seeks to tax tech giants Facebook, Google as telecom companies
Under the proposed telecommunications law, all operators, which provide telecommunication services without having to provide phone numbers, such as Whatsapp and Telegram, would have to register as telecommunications operators and would be taxed based on revenues.
Spain will seek to tax all corporate firms that operate telecommunications services, said Telecommunications Secretary Roberto Sanchez in a press conference in which he also announced a new draft for the law.
Under the proposed telecommunications law, all operators, which provide telecommunication services without having to provide phone numbers, such as Whatsapp and Telegram, would have to register as telecommunications operators and would be taxed based on revenues, Sanchez added.
At present, only phone operators, which can provide phone numbers, need to sign up as telecom operators.
Under the proposed rules, internet companies such as Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc., will have to reveal their sales from messaging services in the European country.