The French are big supporters of the arts of any kind and when they don't have enough money from the government budget to support cultural projects, they think of applying new taxes. This idea came to the socialist government in France, which is now considering the possible taxation of companies such as Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), si Google to support local cultural projects. Many other companies in the IT industry pay a so-called culture tax, and giants like Apple and Google could be forced to do exactly the same if they want to be able to market their products in France.
President Francois Hollande will decide by the end of July whether France should impose new taxes on technology giants like Apple and Google to finance cultural projects, a move that could feed into an anti-business image days after a spat with Yahoo!. The proposed tax would mirror fees already paid by television users, TV and radio broadcasters and Internet service providers to fund art, cinema and music in France, but which Google, Apple and Amazon are now exempt from paying. "Companies that make these tablets must, in a minor way, be made to contribute part of the revenue from their sales to help creators," Culture Minister Aurelie Filipetti told journalists.
According to Reuters the fee would be low and would not affect the profit obtained by the two companies, but it would help support French cultural projects. Although Google and Apple will not be so happy to pay this tax and will probably lobby for its non-introduction, the obligation to pay will be imposed depending on the needs and the decision of the French government.
