Russian authorities are considering a new "digital tax" for global tech giants operating in the country, specifically focusing on those firms which use Russians' personal data.

The possibility of slapping another tax on global IT companies operating in Russia was recently discussed at a meeting presided over by First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, the Russian daily Vedomosti reported.

According to Vedomosti, government officials are primarily targeting companies that use Russians' personal data for ad purposes, such as context ads, and the plan is to use proceeds from the new tax to support the local IT industry.

The idea of heavier taxation of global tech firms apparently comes from their local competitors, which have been repeatedly lobbying the government for more support and protection against foreign competition.

The recent meeting featured representatives from 1С, Mail.ru Group, Yandex, Alfa Bank, Almaz Capital Partners and related industry associations.

In addition to the new digital tax, the idea of re-distributing proceeds from value added tax (VAT) paid by foreign companies on digital services provided in Russia was also floated.

Reportedly, the government can no longer afford to provide any financial support to the local IT sector from the state budget and is looking for alternative sources of funding to avoid a scenario under which the country's tech industry would face stagnation.

Russia's finance ministry has been mulling a heavier tax regime for global tech giants since October 2019, Vedomosti reported. One scenario that has been under consideration is slapping a tax on profits that companies collect from Russian operations. Under current legislation, companies pay taxes on profits in their respective jurisdictions.

Speaking this February, Alexei Sazanov, Deputy Finance Minister, admitted that his agency had been looking into raising taxes for foreign tech firms, but he stressed that it was part of a global trend rather than a Russia-specific initiative.

Last year, Russian tech companies requested extra financial aid from the government, complaining about difficulties they were facing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Meanwhile, global tech firms have had a rough ride in Russia for quite a while. Back in 2015, a law was adopted stipulating that Russians' personal data should be stored in Russia and prompting the global recruitment network LinkedIn to exit the country.

In 2016, at a request from local online video services, Apple, Google Play, Netflix and the likes were forced to pay VAT on digital sales in Russia. Under an earlier piece of legislation, tech companies had been exempt from an 18% VAT on digital sales.

The exemption from VAT was originally adopted in Russia for foreign software developers and was subsequently applied to software sales on Apple's AppStore and Google Play and later to sales of movies and music on iTunes, Google Play Music and Netflix.

However, Russian online video services complained that their foreign competitors already have an unfair advantage and therefore shouldn't be exempt from VAT.

As of 2019, global tech firms have had to go through a more complicated procedure of paying the digital content sales tax, often referred to as the "Google tax."