Wichita Standard

Today, Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) issued a statement in response to Canada's decision to implement a new tax on digital services, which will be retroactive to January 1, 2022. This measure is expected to significantly impact U.S. innovators.

"I’m disappointed by Canada’s decision to enact these retroactive, discriminatory taxes that will hurt the U.S. economy and the longstanding trade partnership between the U.S. and Canada," said Rep. Estes. "The United States will not sit idly by while Canada and other foreign nations attempt to benefit from our economy. My colleagues and I on the Ways and Means Committee are committed to defending American workers, businesses, and innovation and have sought – and will continue to seek – to work with U.S. Trade Representative Tai to safeguard against this theft."

In March 2023, Rep. Estes and Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Michigan) introduced a resolution condemning foreign Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) following Rep. Estes's questioning of Ambassador Tai about DSTs during a Ways and Means hearing.

Rep. Estes has previously expressed his concerns about DSTs through various channels. In 2019, he published an op-ed regarding France's DSTs, and in 2020, he responded to French Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire's Wall Street Journal op-ed with a letter to the editor.