It's been more than two years since the well-known 'Google tax' or what is the same: the Tax on Certain Digital Services (IDSD) in Spain. This new tax entered into force in 2021 and affects any technology company that obtains certain income from digital services in Spain and is taxed 3%. Those services include apps from the App Store. However, Apple has not applied this tax known as the 'Google tax' in the App Store until May 31. As of that day, this tax is passed on to developers with paid apps and any purchase within the app.
Apple complies and the 'Google rate' of 3% is already applied in the App Store
Although the law was passed in the Congress of Deputies in October 2020 it was not approved in the Senate until January 16, 2021. In fact, the month of September 2023 was the maximum date on which the tax had to be integrated in each of the services that were affected by the IDSD. Among these services are online advertising, the sale of data or applications within application stores as in the case of the App Store.
So Apple had to make a move and on May 30 it announced through a note inside the developer portal that was applied the digital services tax of 3% since May 31 of this year. This will produce a change in the money that developers receive since it is to them that this tax is applied in those paid apps, with subscriptions within the app or with purchases within the app.
Remember that this tax colloquially known as the 'Google tax' had a important impact in technology companies that ensured that their compliance it would negatively affect foreign investment and the digital economy.