A report commissioned by France’s culture ministry has proposed a plan on taxing online advertising as well as Internet providers, and using the revenue to aid creative sectors, such as the music industry, which are struggling to adapt to the age of downloads. The “Google tax” plan could also target other big Internet players such as Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo and Facebook.
Such a move could make up to 50 million euro in a year, and the author of the report says the tax would only take a small percentage of Google’s ad revenues. Furthermore, the report argues that making money by advertising and not being taxed is “endless enrichment without payback”.
Google France said that, there is an opportunity here to promote innovative solutions, rather than extending the attitude of opposition between the Internet world and the cultural world, for example through the approach of taxation.
European Union regulators warned Friday that they would have to check any French plan to tax Google’s advertising revenues and channel the money to the ailing music industry. [via]
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