Poland’s government plans to start work on a digital service text bill that will affect companies such as Apple, reports Reuters (a subscription is required to read the article).
The bill would only affect companies making over €1 billion globally and more than $6.79 million in Poland per year. It would tax companies that earn money from targeted online ads, platforms where users connect or buy and sell, and selling user data. That includes Apple thanks to its App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Books, Apple Podcasts, and various subscription services.
Today, competition in the digital market in Poland is distorted. Companies that pay taxes on their activities in Poland are in a worse position than those that provide digital services within our country from abroad,” Deputy Prime Minister and Digitalization Minster Krzysztof Gawkowski said. “This reduces the competitiveness of domestic entities, limits our digital sovereignty, and significantly reduces state budget revenues that could be reinvested in building our country’s technological potential.”
However, AppleInsider notes that Apple doesn’t operate as a pure intermediary platform, which is the model these taxes are built to target. The tech giant blends hardware, first-party services, and controlled distribution into one system, which makes it harder to isolate taxable digital revenue.
Apple can argue that large parts of its business fall outside those definitions, especially where services are tied directly to its own products or content, notes AppleInsider.
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