This is "in addition to a EU-wide move," according to Kurz. France is pushing its own approach starting January 1st.

The companies in question have previously argued that they're already paying their fair share. They typically report their EU income in a country with lower taxes, such as Ireland, and rely on loopholes to minimize their financial impact. While that's legal, it also leaves them paying far less on average than other businesses -- roughly 9 percent versus the 23 percent of other firms operating in the region. Both officials and residents haven't been happy with that gap, and Austria's move suggests that fewer and fewer EU countries are willing to wait for a continent-wide solution.