Google is also lowering the levy for app developers with less revenue

Instead of the usual 30 percent, they should cede 15 percent from July 1, as Google announced on Tuesday. After reaching the million mark in Google’s Play Store, 30 percent are due again. According to the group, however, the fees will be halved for 99 percent of developers with this step.

The levies recently caused a dispute: some developers such as the game company Epic (“Fortnite”) want to use their own payment methods and thus do not pay any fees to Apple and Google as the operator of the platforms. After their complaints, the EU Commission’s competition watchdogs inter alia.

While the apps on Apple’s iPhones and iPads can only be downloaded from the in-house store, users of devices with the Google Android system can also download applications from other platforms besides the Play Store.

Apple announced its tax cut in December and it has been in effect since this year. At Google, the 15 percent generally applies to the first million dollars in a year. At Apple, a developer qualifies for the 15 percent levy if he earned less than a million dollars in the previous year. Should his income then exceed the one million mark in the following year, the 30 percent will be due from this point on.

Apple had already set the fee for digital products and services at 30 percent when the App Store was launched in 2008. Google put it just as high on its Play Store. The fee is due, for example, when selling apps, making in-app purchases and taking out subscriptions. For subscriptions, Apple had already reduced the fee from 30 to 15 percent from the second year onwards in 2016.