No global digital tax by end-2020 would mean digital tax chaos: France

Failure to reach a worldwide deal on where and just how much to tax digital giants like Google, Amazon or Facebook would lead to many digital tax regimes emerging around the world, France's Finance Minister said on Sunday.

Talking with Reuters on the sidelines of a gathering of world financial leaders, Bruno Le Maire said the gathering had been very useful in establishing consensus on such global tax rules.Finance ministers and central bank governors from the world's 20 biggest economies, the G20, met in Riyadh for talks on global economical issues, with digital taxation topping their two-day agenda.

"For the first tine there is wide consensus among the G20 members on the need of having a fresh international taxation system," Le Maire said.

"We have to address the problem of digital companies making profits in many countries without the physical presence, this means without paying the due level of taxes," he said.

"And we also need to address the key question of minimum taxation and the chance of having a race to the bottom on taxation," he said.

France has recently adopted its digital tax, but suspended it before end of the entire year to give the G20 time to work out a worldwide deal to which all countries would subscribe.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the G20's think tank, really wants to agree on technical details of such a tax by July and a full agreement among the G20 is expected by the finish of the year.

"You will find a consensus to create a solution by the end of 2020," Le Maire said, noting the choice - no agreement - would create a proliferation of different tax systems making life more difficult for companies.

"Let's be clear - either we have by the end of 2020 an international solution... clearly in the interest of most countries and digital companies, or there is absolutely no solution and ... then it'll be up the national taxes to enter force," Le Maire said.

"Instead of having one single, simple solution, we'd have many different digital taxes, worldwide," he said.

AMERICA, home to the majority of the digital giants, has been cautious with committing to a remedy on taxing them before U.S. presidential elections later this year, and has threatened to slap tariffs on French goods if Paris didn't suspend the implementation of the tax.