The most inventiv tax creator country in the world, France considers tax for Goolge, Yahoo and Facebook
 Nicolas Sarkozy has adopted a hard line on regulating digital content |
Google and other net firms could be taxed under plans being considered by the French government.
A report, commissioned by the government, suggests firms such as Google, Yahoo and Facebook should pay a new tax on their online ad revenues.
The money could be used to fund legal alternatives for buying books, films and music on the internet.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has taken a tough line on the increasing dominance of digital content.
France has just introduced tough new legislation aimed at removing those who persistently download illegal content from the net.
Patrick Zelnik, who contributed to the report and is also the founder of the French president's wife's record label, hopes the idea will be taken on board across the EU.
But critics say it would be difficult to implement and Google has voiced opposition to the plan.
"We don't think introducing an additional tax on internet advertising is the right way forward as it could slow down innovation.
The better way to support content creation is to find new business models that help consumers find great content and rewards artists and publishers for their work," said Olivier Esper, senior policy manager for Google France.
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