France mulls 'Google tax' to pay for creative content

The French government is considering a tax on internet advertising revenues of online giants such as Google to support industries hit by the digital revolution, French newspapers reported today.

A government-appointed team that investigated into "creation and the internet" has suggested slapping a levy on internet ads and using the funds so raised to support content providers and others hit by the digital revolution, the reports said.

The levy, applicable to other internet operators such as MSN and Yahoo, would put an end to "enrichment without any limit or compensation," the Liberation newspaper quoted Guillaume Cerutti, one of the authors of the report, as saying.

The report said the levy would apply even to operators having their offices outside France if they have links in France.

The panel has also suggested imposing a tax on internet service providers to raise funds for developing online music and other creative content.

The investigation, called 'Mission Zelnik', was launched in September 2009 by France's culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand. The committee had Patrick Zelnik, CEO of independent music label Naïve, Jacques Toubon, former minister of culture and Guillaume Cerutti, CEO of Sotheby's France, as members.