Reconsideration of Equalisation Levy Withdrawal
Indian digital news publishers have made a formal request to the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, to reconsider the withdrawal of the 6% equalisation levy on foreign digital companies that generate significant revenue from India.
Concerns Highlighted
- The removal of the levy has led to an uneven playing field, favoring foreign technology platforms that distribute news.
- Several countries like France, the UK, Italy, and Spain continue to enforce digital services taxes until the global 'Pillar One' framework by the OECD and G20 is effective.
- The absence of such a mechanism in India puts domestic publishers at a disadvantage, despite India's status as a significant digital market.
Role of Indian Digital Publishers
- Indian publishers are committed to the government's vision of Digital India, Make in India, and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- They emphasize the need for an equitable regulatory and fiscal environment for long-term sustainability.
- Lack of the levy allows foreign platforms to benefit from the Indian market without proportional contributions, while domestic publishers incur costs for quality journalism and content creation.
Additional Concerns
- There is rising concern over anti-competitive practices by large technology platforms.
- Unauthorized data scraping of content by major AI corporations is another issue raised by the publishers.