Brexit is unfortunate, but acceptable: Austrian president

06:54, January 31, 2020

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  Google to raise ad fees to cover Austrian tax

  American tech giant Google will ramp up charges to its advertisers to cover the costs of a new Austrian tax, a source close to the company said on Saturday.File photo: CGTNAustria started imposing a five percent levy from January 1 on online advertising revenues of some big firms -- the latest of a string of countries trying to ensure tech giants pay their way.A source close to Google said the firm would add five percent to the invoices of companies whose adverts are clicked on or seen by web users in Austria, "regardless of the location of the advertiser"."Well be doing that in the second half of the year," said the source.Officials around the world are grappling with ways to tax tech companies, who often report profits in low-tax jurisdictions like Ireland or Luxembourg, enraging other governments.The United States has threatened to take action against countries introducing digital taxes, but Austria promised to maintain the levy until an international solution is found.The Austrian law applies to firms with annual sales of more than 750 million euros ($830 million) -- providing at least 25 million euros are generated in Austria.The government claims that it has introduced "tax equality" between digital and traditional media, which is already subject to the same levy on advertising revenues.Austrian newspaper the Standard broke the story on Saturday, publishing excerpts from a German-language email purportedly from Google to its advertisers announcing the rise in fees.Canada is the latest country to promise a levy on tech firms after France introduced a three percent tax last year on revenues earned in the country.

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  Qatari Emir accepts PM's resignation

  File photo: CGTNDOHA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani accepted prime ministers resignation and appointed a new one, media reported Tuesday.

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  Malta to accept migrants as part of EU-wide agreement

  (Photo: AFP)VALLETTA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- An agreement at European Union (EU) level will see the redistribution of 477 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, the Maltese government said here on Wednesday.It said that while Italy will be receiving more than 400 migrants rescued in recent days by the humanitarian vessel Ocean Viking, Malta will accept 77 migrants rescued by another vessel, the Alan Kurdi.The migrants will be transferred onto an Armed Forces of Malta patrol boat and brought to Malta.In a statement, the government said the agreement will see the disembarkation of two rescue boats that have been in Mediterranean waters intercepting immigrants over the last few days."Malta, Italy and the European Commission have worked on a solution based on the principle of European solidarity. A number of European countries have already committed their cooperation and support and discussions are ongoing with others," the statement said."As a result of this agreement, Malta will assume responsibility for 50 of the total rescued migrants, whereas the rest will be distributed amongst other European countries," it said."Malta is already doing more than its fair share of solidarity, it is currently experiencing disproportionate pressure and its reception facilities are under stress," the government said.It said that countries on the frontier like Malta are facing increasingly difficult situations and that other EU countries must step up their efforts and participate in European solutions at a time when migration is once again proving to be one of the main challenges for the European Union and which is "ultimately a European problem."