Francois-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, fears retaliation for Gafa tax

Kering boss, François-Henri Pinault, believes that the activities of his luxury group are currently "spared" by the US-China trade war, but fears possible US retaliation against the taxation of giants of the United States. unilaterally decided by France.

We are, "For the moment, spared because our productions are made in France or Italy in a very large proportion, so the sanctions that are taken on one side and the other do not affect the luxury products"said Mr. Pinault at the microphone of France Inter Saturday morning.

But he also said "Vigilant" on possible US retaliation because of the application by France of a tax Gafa.

After two days of intense negotiations, France said at the G7 Biarritz last week to have reached an agreement in principle with the United States on the taxation of digital giants, supposed to avert the threat of American reprisals on French wine .

Tuesday, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire had considered that this threat "Departed" but was not yet "Definitely dismissed", the issue depending on upcoming discussions with the US side.

Under the compromise made by Paris and Washington, France has committed to abandon its tax, which comes into effect this year, as soon as an international solution has been found under the auspices of the OECD. Mr. Pinault nevertheless called for continued vigilance.

"There is a fear that the United States will begin to impose sanctions. We are talking about French wine. Luxury goods could follow too. For the moment we are spared but we must be careful », he said.

Definitively adopted on July 11th, this tax, which comes into force in France this year, creates a taxation of the big companies of the technological sector not on the profit, often transferred via assemblies learned in countries with very low taxation, but on the turnover.

This device provoked strong reactions on the American side, and President Donald Trump himself had threatened to tax French wines, going so far as to evoke on August 9 a 100% tax.

The agreement in principle announced in Biarritz also provoked hostility from the American technology industry.

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Francois-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, fears retaliation for Gafa taxOuest-France.fr

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