6406 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 12 / Thursday, January 21, 2021 / Notices 

of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, and other agencies and officials 

as appropriate, is authorized to impose 

on a person any of the sanctions 

described in section 2(c) of E.O. 13894 

upon determining that the person met 

any criteria set forth in section 2(a)(i) or 

section 2(a)(ii) of E.O. 13894. 

The Secretary of State has 

determined, pursuant to Section 

2(a)(i)(A) of E.O. 13894, that Saqr 

Rustom and the National Defense Forces 

are responsible for or complicit in, have 

directly or indirectly engaged in, 

attempted to engage in, or financed, the 

obstruction, disruption, or prevention of 

a ceasefire in northern Syria. 

Pursuant to Sections 2(b) and 2(c) of 

E.O. 13894, the Secretary of State has 

selected the following sanctions to be 

imposed upon Saqr Rustom and the 

National Defense Forces: 

• Block all property and interests in 

property that are in the United States, 

that hereafter come within the United 

States, or that are or hereafter come 

within the possession or control of any 

United States person of Saqr Rustom 

and the National Defense Forces, and 

provide that such property and interests 

in property may not be transferred, paid, 

exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt 

in (Section 2(c)(iv) of E.O. 13894). 

Peter D. Haas, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau 

of Economic and Business Affairs, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00951 Filed 1–19–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–AE–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

Notice of Determination Pursuant to 

Section 301: Austria’s Digital Services 

Tax 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative (USTR). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Trade 

Representative has determined that 

Austria’s Digital Services Tax (DST) is 

unreasonable or discriminatory and 

burdens or restricts U.S. commerce and 

thus is actionable under Section 301. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions concerning the investigation, 

please contact Thomas Au or Patrick 

Childress, Assistant General Counsels at 

(202) 395–0380 and (202) 395–9531, 

respectively, Robert Tanner, Director, 

Services and Investment at (202) 395– 

6125, or Michael Rogers, Director, 

Europe and the Middle East at (202) 

395–2684. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Austria’s DST 

Based on information obtained during 

the investigation, USTR has prepared a 

comprehensive report on Austria’s DST 

(Austria DST Report). The Austria DST 

Report, which is posted on the USTR 

website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/ 

enforcement/section-301-investigations/ 

section-301-digital-services-taxes, 

includes a full description of Austria’s 

DST. To summarize, Austria’s DST 

imposes a 5% tax on gross revenues 

from digital advertising services 

provided in Austria. The DST applies 

only to companies with annual global 

revenues of Ö750 million or more, and 

annual revenues from digital advertising 

services in Austria of Ö25 million or 

more. 

II. Proceedings in the Investigation 

On June 2, 2020, the U.S. Trade 

Representative initiated an investigation 

of Austria’s DST pursuant to section 

302(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974, as 

amended (Trade Act). See 85 FR 34709 

(June 5, 2020) (notice of initiation). The 

notice of initiation solicited written 

comments on, inter alia, the following 

aspects of Austria’s DST: Discrimination 

against U.S. companies, retroactivity, 

and possibly unreasonable tax policy. 

With respect to tax policy, USTR 

solicited comments on, inter alia, 

whether the DST diverged from 

principles reflected in the U.S. and 

international tax systems including 

extraterritoriality, taxing revenue not 

income, and a purpose of penalizing 

particular technology companies for 

their commercial success. 

Interested persons filed over 380 

written submissions in response to the 

notice of initiation. The public 

submissions are available on 

www.regulations.gov in docket number 

USTR–2020–0022. 

Under Section 303 of the Trade Act, 

the U.S. Trade Representative requested 

consultations with the Government of 

Austria regarding the issues involved in 

the investigation. Consultations were 

held on December 21, 2020. 

As noted, based on information 

obtained during the investigation, USTR 

has prepared and published the Austria 

DST Report, which includes a 

comprehensive discussion on whether 

the acts, policies, and practices under 

investigation are actionable under 

Section 301(b) of the Trade Act. The 

Austria DST Report supports findings 

that Austria’s DST is unreasonable or 

discriminatory and burdens or restricts 

U.S. commerce. 

III. Determination on the Act, Policy, or 

Practice Under Investigation 

Based on the information obtained 

during the investigation, and taking 

account of public comments and the 

advice of the Section 301 Committee 

and advisory committees, the U.S. Trade 

Representative has made the following 

determination under sections 301(b) and 

304(a) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 

2411(b) and 2414(a)): the act, policy, or 

practice covered in the investigation, 

namely Austria’s DST, is unreasonable 

or discriminatory and burdens or 

restricts U.S. commerce, and thus is 

actionable under section 301(b) of the 

Trade Act. In particular: 

1. Austria’s DST, by its structure and 

operation, discriminates against U.S. 

digital companies. 

2. Austria’s DST is unreasonable 

because it is inconsistent with 

principles of international taxation. 

3. Austria’s DST burdens or restricts 

U.S. commerce. 

IV. Further Proceedings 

Sections 301(b) and 304(a)(1)(B) of the 

Trade Act provide that if the U.S. Trade 

Representative determines that an act, 

policy, or practice of a foreign country 

is unreasonable or discriminatory and 

burdens or restricts United States 

commerce, the U.S. Trade 

Representative shall determine what 

action, if any, to take under Section 

301(b). These matters will be addressed 

in subsequent proceedings under 

Section 301. 

Joseph Barloon, 

General Counsel, Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01173 Filed 1–19–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3290–F0–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

Notice of Determination Pursuant to 

Section 301: The United Kingdom’s 

Digital Services Tax 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative (USTR). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Trade 

Representative has determined that the 

United Kingdom’s Digital Services Tax 

(DST) is unreasonable or discriminatory 

and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce 

and thus is actionable under Section 

301. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions concerning the investigation, 

please contact Thomas Au or Patrick 

Childress, Assistant General Counsels at 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 12 / Thursday, January 21, 2021 / Notices 6407 

(202) 395–0380 and (202) 395–9531, 

respectively, Robert Tanner, Director, 

Services and Investment at (202) 395– 

6125, or Michael Rogers, Director, 

Europe and the Middle East at (202) 

395–2684. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. The United Kingdom’s DST 

Based on information obtained during 

the investigation, USTR has prepared a 

comprehensive report on the United 

Kingdom’s DST (UK DST Report). The 

UK DST Report, which is posted on the 

USTR website at https://ustr.gov/issueareas/enforcement/section-301- 

investigations/section-301-digitalservices-taxes, includes a full 

description of the United Kingdom’s 

DST. To summarize, the United 

Kingdom’s DST was introduced as part 

of the Finance Bill 2020 and adopted on 

July 22, 2020. The United Kingdom’s 

DST applies a two percent tax on the 

revenues of certain search engines, 

social medial platforms and online 

marketplaces. The United Kingdom’s 

DST applies only to companies with 

digital services revenues exceeding £500 

million and United Kingdom digital 

services revenues exceeding £25 

million. Companies became liable for 

the DST on April 1, 2020. 

II. Proceedings in the Investigation 

On June 2, 2020, the U.S. Trade 

Representative initiated an investigation 

of the United Kingdom’s DST pursuant 

to section 302(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act 

of 1974, as amended (Trade Act). 85 FR 

34709 (June 5, 2020) (notice of 

initiation). The notice of initiation 

solicited written comments on, inter 

alia, the following aspects of the United 

Kingdom’s DST: discrimination against 

U.S. companies; retroactivity; and 

possibly unreasonable tax policy. With 

respect to tax policy, USTR solicited 

comments on, inter alia, whether the 

DST diverged from principles reflected 

in the U.S. and international tax systems 

including extraterritoriality; taxing 

revenue not income; and a purpose of 

penalizing particular technology 

companies for their commercial success. 

Interested persons filed over 380 

written submissions in response to the 

notice of initiation. The public 

submissions are available on 

www.regulations.gov in docket number 

USTR–2020–0022. 

Under Section 303 of the Trade Act, 

the U.S. Trade Representative requested 

consultations with the Government of 

the United Kingdom regarding the 

issues involved in the investigation. 

Consultations were held on December 4, 

2020. 

As noted, based on information 

obtained during the investigation, USTR 

has prepared and published the UK DST 

Report, which includes a 

comprehensive discussion on whether 

the acts, policies, and practices under 

investigation are actionable under 

Section 301(b) of the Trade Act. The UK 

DST Report supports findings that the 

United Kingdom’s DST is unreasonable 

or discriminatory and burdens or 

restricts U.S. commerce. 

III. Determination on the Act, Policy, or 

Practice Under Investigation 

Based on the information obtained 

during the investigation, and taking 

account of public comments and the 

advice of the Section 301 Committee 

and advisory committees, the U.S. Trade 

Representative has made the following 

determination under sections 301(b) and 

304(a) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 

2411(b) and 2414(a)): the act, policy, or 

practice covered in the investigation, 

namely the United Kingdom’s DST, is 

unreasonable or discriminatory and 

burdens or restricts U.S. commerce, and 

thus is actionable under section 301(b) 

of the Trade Act. In particular: 

1. The United Kingdom’s DST, by its 

structure and operation, discriminates 

against U.S. digital companies, 

including due to the selection of 

covered services and the revenue 

thresholds. 

2. The United Kingdom’s DST is 

unreasonable because it is inconsistent 

with principles of international 

taxation, including due to application to 

revenue rather than income, 

extraterritoriality, and retroactivity. 

3. The United Kingdom’s DST 

burdens or restricts U.S. commerce. 

IV. Further Proceedings 

Sections 301(b) and 304(a)(1)(B) of the 

Trade Act provides that if the U.S. 

Trade Representative determines that an 

act, policy, or practice of a foreign 

country is unreasonable or 

discriminatory and burdens or restricts 

United States commerce, the U.S. Trade 

Representative shall determine what 

action, if any, to take under Section 

301(b). These matters will be addressed 

in subsequent proceedings under 

Section 301. 

Joseph Barloon, 

General Counsel, Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01174 Filed 1–19–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3290–F0–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

Notice of Determination Pursuant to 

Section 301: Spain’s Digital Services 

Tax 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative (USTR). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Trade 

Representative has determined that 

Spain’s Digital Services Tax (DST) is 

unreasonable or discriminatory and 

burdens or restricts U.S. commerce and 

thus is actionable under Section 301. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions concerning the investigation, 

please contact Thomas Au or Patrick 

Childress, Assistant General Counsels at 

(202) 395–0380 and (202) 395–9531, 

respectively, Robert Tanner, Director, 

Services and Investment at (202) 395– 

6125, or Michael Rogers, Director, 

Europe and the Middle East at (202) 

395–2684. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Spain’s DST 

Based on information obtained during 

the investigation, USTR has prepared a 

comprehensive report on Spain’s DST 

(Spain DST Report). The Spain DST 

Report, which is posted on the USTR 

website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/ 

enforcement/section-301-investigations/ 

section-301-digital-services-taxes, 

includes a full description of Spain’s 

DST. To summarize, Spain introduced a 

legislative proposal to establish a DST 

on February 28, 2020 and adopted the 

DST on October 7, 2020. The DST 

applies a three percent tax on certain 

digital services revenues related to 

online advertising services, online 

intermediary services, and data 

transmission services. Companies with 

worldwide revenues of Ö750 million or 

more and Ö3 million in certain digital 

services revenues are subject to the tax. 

The tax is expected to take effect on 

January 15, 2021. 

II. Proceedings in the Investigation 

On June 2, 2020, the U.S. Trade 

Representative initiated an investigation 

of Spain’s DST pursuant to section 

302(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974, as 

amended (Trade Act). See 85 FR 34709 

(June 5, 2020) (notice of initiation). The 

notice of initiation solicited written 

comments on, inter alia, the following 

aspects of Spain’s DST: discrimination 

against U.S. companies, retroactivity, 

and possibly unreasonable tax policy. 

With respect to tax policy, USTR 

solicited comments on, inter alia, 

whether the DST diverged from 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES