EU Nations Aim to Boost Web Firms' Tax Payouts

Europe's biggest economies are teaming up to try to wring more taxes out of the world's biggest Internet companies. Ministers from the U.K., Germany and France have begun meeting in recent weeks to discuss how to stop big multinational companies from using legal loopholes to shift European profits to low-tax countries, government officials say.

The talks are taking place as Europe tries to plug budget deficits amid a spreading recession. Caught in the crosshairs: firms like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook. The companies rack up tens of billions of euros in yearly sales in Europe but pay comparatively little tax in many countries because of arrangements that they and many tax experts say are legal. The tax talks are likely to stoke debate over the role of national borders in an increasingly virtual world. They could also challenge some of the underpinnings of the current European tax system as it is used by businesses.