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Australia to Tax Digital Giants Unless They Share Revenue with News Media

The Australian government announced on Thursday its plans to impose a tax on major digital platforms and search engines unless they agree to share their revenue with Australian news media organizations.

Effective January 1, the tax will target tech companies earning more than 250 million Australian dollars ($160 million) annually from Australian operations, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland confirmed. Companies likely to be affected include Meta, Google, Alphabet, and ByteDance.

Revenue shared with Australian media organizations will be deducted from the tax obligation, though the exact tax rate has not been disclosed.

“The real objective … is not to raise revenue. We hope not to raise any revenue,” said Jones. “The real objective is to incentivize agreement-making between platforms and news media businesses in Australia.”

The move comes after Meta announced it would not renew three-year agreements with Australian news publishers to pay for their content.

In 2021, Australia introduced the New Media Bargaining Code, requiring tech giants to negotiate revenue-sharing deals with local media companies or face fines of up to 10% of their Australian revenue. The code aimed to level the playing field between traditional news outlets and digital platforms benefiting from their content.

This new tax builds on the principles of the 2021 code and signals Australia’s commitment to ensuring fair compensation for news media in the digital age.

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