France’s government is taking aim at big internet companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Google LLC and Facebook Inc. with a new 3 percent tax on their French revenues.

The move is designed to prevent companies from using tax avoidance measures that allow them to pay taxes only in the EU country where they’re based, often at very low rates, the Associated Press reported. These loopholes mean that tech companies can get away with paying very little taxes in several EU countries where they generate enormous profits.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the tax is expected to raise about 500 million euros ($565 million) a year. That’s mere pocket change to the kind of companies France is targeting, but analysts say the move could pave the way for further measures in other EU states. For example, Germany, Spain and the U.K. are all said to be considering their own digital tax plans.

France’s decision comes after several EU members failed in a recent effort to introduce a Europewide digital tax. Those plans were blocked by countries including Ireland, Germany and Sweden, which argued they could lead to loss of revenues and retaliation from the U.S. and other affected countries.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is also mulling the idea of a global digital tax for tech companies, but it won’t come to a decision until 2020 at the earliest, Reuters reported.

France has long pushed for a new tax law, saying that foreign tech firms get away with paying far fewer taxes than their European competitors. Le Maire said that France would repeal the new tax if and when the OECD comes up with a better plan.

The French tax is being limited to companies that generate global revenue of at least 750 million euros ($847 million) a year, with 25 million euros ($28 million) of that revenue coming from French sales alone. The restrictions are designed to protect startups, Le Maire said. About 30 companies, mostly American firms but also some Chinese and European companies, will be affected.

“This is about justice,” Le Maire said in a statement. “These digital giants use our personal data, make huge profits out of these data … then transfer the money somewhere else without paying their fair amount of taxes.”

Analyst Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said France’s move was understandable because EU tax systems are outdated, but that it also has to be careful not to alienate foreign tech firms too much or they might move operations elsewhere.

“Once software is written, there are no manufacturing costs, and manufacturing is what tax systems are well acquainted with,” Mueller said. “Moreover, the manufacturing of software at R&D locations is highly desirable employment, which means countries compete to get software development centers located in their tax jurisdiction.”

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