ROME, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Major industrialised nations will look into how new digital companies should be taxed during Group of Seven meetings that will be hosted by Italy this year, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Thursday.
"The G7 will discuss taxing the new types of companies born with the digital economy," Padoan told conference in Rome.
France, Italy and other countries have long complained at the way Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) and other digital giants generate huge profits in their countries but have their tax base in countries where corporate tax rates are far lower.
But the complaints have made little legal headway because EU tax law protects companies against paying tax in a country where they do not have what is termed a "permanent establishment".