The world's biggest technology firms face an extra €5 billion ($7.95 billion) tax bill each year to operate in the EU as governments face "an ever-bigger black hole" in their finances.

Technology companies with global revenues of more than €750 million and EU revenues above €50 million face a charge of 3 per cent of those revenues.

It will target companies that make money from digital marketplaces, apps to share goods and services, and online adverts - which include social networks, search engines and retail sites such as Amazon.

Between 120 and 150 firms are expected to pay the charge. "Our pre-internet rules do not allow our member states to tax digital companies operating in Europe when they have little or no physical presence here," said Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner. He said: "This represents an ever-bigger black hole for member states, because the tax base is being eroded. That's why we're bringing forward a new legal standard as well an interim tax for digital activities."

Facebook, Google, Amazon, Uber, Airbnb and other large technology firms - typically from the US - are among the most high-profile firms that face the tax. They tend to have less physical infrastructure than traditional businesses and rely more on "value" created by designers and staff around the world, making it hard to know how and where they should pay tax.