Google additionally charges ads in some EU countries due to regulatory costs

Google will charge extra for displaying ads in several European countries. Advertisers have to pay a two percent ‘regulatory fee’ if they show ads on Google or YouTube in France, Italy and Spain.

Google has this week sent an email to advertisers to notify them. The company also refers to a support page, although it does not contain the new prices. The company will charge two percent in “regulatory operating costs” to advertisers serving ads to users in France, Italy and Spain.

These costs are also passed on for advertisements in India. In Turkey, the company charges five percent for this. In practice, that means advertisers will have to pay an additional 2% of their total spend on the Google Ads platform or on YouTube. This will take place on October 1 of this year.

The amount is being calculated, according to Google, “to cover some of the costs associated with tax compliance for digital services.” This currently only applies in a limited number of countries, but that tax may be passed on in all EU countries if the European Union enforces more tax on the internet company. In many individual countries and in a European context, there has been increasing talk in recent years about a ‘digital tax’ that can be imposed on tech giants. Those talks have recently come to a halt.