Greens announce policy push to hit major tech titans with 3 per cent tax
Tech giants such as Meta, Amazon, Uber and Microsoft could be hit with a hefty tax under a new election policy demand put forward by the Greens.
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Tech titans including Meta, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Uber will be called to pay their fair share in taxes, in a $11.5bn proposal put forward by the Australian Greens.
The minor party is calling for a digital services tax which would hit companies that make more than $20m on things like advertising, online marketplace services, user data and social media with a 3 per cent tax rate.
To qualify, the global companies would also need to make more than €750m (AU$1.275bn) in revenue across their international operations.
In 2024, Meta, the parent company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, generated more than $US164bn ($A264bn), with Amazon earning $US638bn ($A1017.1bn) and Uber raking in $US44bn ($A70.1bn).
Other companies captured under the provision also include food delivery services like Menulog and Door Dash, jobs platform SEEK and online retailer eBay.
Although costings analysis from the Parliamentary Budget Office warned the large multinational companies capture under their scheme would respond by shifting their Australian operations, it’s estimated the policy could bring in $11.5bn over the next 10 years to 2034-35.
Ahead of the policy launch on Thursday, Greens communications spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said “tech giants and the billionaire tech bros” needed to pay their “fair share back to the Australian community”.
She added the tax revenue could be used to fund essential services and further cost-of-living relief like the Greens $200bn call to incorporate dental in Medicare.
“Companies that trade in Australia need to pay tax on the money they make in Australia. Global tech giants are making billions of dollars in revenue in Australia while paying very little in tax,” she said.
The Greens’ latest demands comes as polling is tipping either a Labor or Coalition led minority government following the federal election, due by May 17, which will dub minor parties and independents as king makers in the next parliament.
Senator Hanson-Young said the tax policy will be a key demand of the Greens.
“These big foreign owned corporations make huge profits off Australians and resist regulation at every turn. It’s time they paid their fair share of tax,” she said.
“With a power sharing parliament likely, the Greens will push for this policy after the election.
“We need to stand up for our national interest against Donald Trump’s billionaire oligarchs like Zuckerberg, Musk, and Bezos.”
Previously, the Labor government announced a News Bargaining Incentive on social media companies, which would hit companies with a significant tax levy if they fail to strike payment agreements with news organisations.
The levy would then be distributed to news organisations.
The intervention followed Meta’s withdrawal from the $200m News Media Bargaining Codes in 2024, and would apply to companies which earn more than $250m in their Australian operations.
Originally published as Greens announce policy push to hit major tech titans with 3 per cent tax
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