Press Releases

Today, Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Ron Estes (KS-04),  Darin LaHood (IL-16), Nathaniel Moran (TX-01), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), and Brad Schneider (IL-10) introduced a bipartisan resolution expressing strong opposition to Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) and other foreign taxes that unfairly target and discriminate against American companies and workers. 

The resolution highlights that several countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Austria, and the United Kingdom, have already implemented DSTs, while others, such as Poland and Belgium, are actively considering them. These taxes deviate from established international income tax systems by targeting a company’s gross revenue rather than its net income, regardless of whether the business has a physical presence in that country. 

This resolution aligns with past investigations conducted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Those investigations concluded that DSTs are explicitly structured to discriminate against U.S. digital companies, are unusually burdensome due to retroactive applications, and violate prevailing international tax and trade agreements. 

“The U.S. should be rule makers, not rule takers, in the growing global digital economy. Digital trade is far more than just a technology issue. It is fundamental to our modern economy, supporting millions of American jobs and growing Washington state’s technology, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors,” said DelBene. “This resolution urges the U.S. to oppose digital service taxes that undermine the competitiveness of our digital sector and defend the high-quality jobs it supports.”

“Free and fair trade relies on international cooperation, mutual respect, and legal certainty,” said Estes. “DSTs are designed to unfairly penalize American innovation, creating a hostile environment of double taxation and market distortion that harms not just our premier tech companies, but also the U.S. small businesses and consumers who rely on them. This resolution sends a clear message: the United States will use every trade and tax tool at our disposal to protect our workers and businesses from discriminatory foreign overreach.”

“As co-chair of the Digital Trade Caucus, I have witnessed firsthand how fair and effective digital trade rules directly correlates to the success of manufacturers, farmers, and small businesses across Illinois’ 16^th District,” said LaHood. “We must remain aggressive in using the necessary tools to combat unfair foreign digital trade policies that are in direct contradiction to our values and seek to undermine American businesses.”

"Foreign governments that single out American companies for discriminatory taxation are undermining free and fair trade. This resolution puts Congress on record demanding they stop,” said Moran. “I'm proud to join Representatives Estes, LaHood, DelBene, Panetta, and Schneider in sending that message clearly and with one bipartisan voice."

“Multiple reports have made clear that other countries' digital service taxes unfairly discriminate against the United States, violating principles of free and fair trade and undermining existing international agreements,” said Panetta. “I’m proud to join a bipartisan group of colleagues in strong opposition to these harmful taxes that target American digital businesses and hurt their customers. We must build an international consensus against these taxes which undermine fundamental tax principles and fairness.”

“I’m proud to join my colleagues on this resolution to show strong bipartisan support for multilateral engagement to address the rise of digital services taxes and other similar taxes that blatantly target U.S. companies,” said Schneider. “We must stand together as members of the Ways and Means Committee to work with our global partners and ensure a fair playing field for U.S. companies.”

The text of the legislation can be found here