How to tax Facebook, Instagram, and X? With VAT, of course!

Analysis: Without going through the law, it would be possible to apply value-added tax to free access to social networks, argue two digital experts. This would generate nearly 20 billion euros per year for the state.

By Boris Manenti

Published on August 7, 2025 at 5:01 p.m.

The Instagram logo appears on a smartphone screen and the Meta logo in the background of a laptop. YASSINE MAHJOUB/SIPA

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The heart of this summer has turned into a fiscal ferment among those most concerned about the preparation of the 2026 budget , which will be examined at the start of the school year in Parliament. While the ever-Prime Minister François Bayrou is putting a cross on his vacation to play the role of YouTuber pedagogue on the state of public finances, it would be well enlightened to listen to the interesting proposal put forward by Benoît Thieulin, CEO of the agency La WarRoom and former president of the National Digital Council (CNNum), and Godefroy Beauvallet, director of the École des Mines and president of Afnic (the association in charge of .fr domain names): finally subject the internet giants to VAT.

Digital platforms—primarily American—pay VAT on what they charge (advertising inserts) but not on the various services offered free of charge to subscribers. In concrete terms, an Internet user who browses Facebook, scrolls through Instagram, or gives…