European Tax on Digital Giants Faces Resistance Led by Ireland

France’s campaign to institute a new levy for digital companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. ran into early difficulties as the European Union seeks to align its tax policy with more modern and technologically focused businesses.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told colleagues at a meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, that the bloc should agree to a tax on the digital industry by mid-2018 as a matter of fairness. Ten countries, including Germany, Italy and Spain, have formally backed the initiative. Eight others have reservations, he said, led by Ireland.