Legal regulation of digital services taxation in the European countries

Abstract

The relevance of this research is defined by the fact that in modern realities, the economic activity is carried mostly by means of digital technologies, which requires amendment of legal regulation of the economy overall and tax relations in particular. The subject of this research is the normative documents of separate European countries (Austria, Hungary, Greece, Italy, and France) adopted in recent years and aimed at regulation of taxation of the digital international groups of companies. The goal of this work consists in determination of legal framework for implementation of digital services tax in certain Western European countries, as well as in identification of the problems caused thereof. Practical significance and scientific value of this work lies in the detailed description and systematization of the normative legal acts of the European countries that established the digital services tax on a unilateral basis, which made the information on promulgated laws within the framework of reforms in the European tax system more accessible for the Russian researchers. Based on the analysis of theoretical sources, the author outlines the legal problems and consequences of implementation of the new tax. The conclusion is made that digital services tax requires further theoretical substantiation and more detailed elaboration for overcoming legal uncertainty and compliance with the international legal framework.