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'Google tax' to finance French culture industry

France is planning a "Google tax" on search engines to raise money to plough into creative industries weakened by the digital revolution.

The levy on advertising revenue is the latest plank in France's drive to regulate the internet.

Besides Google, the tax would target other operators such as Yahoo! and Microsoft.

Google's European headquarters are in Ireland, but, under the proposal, the operator would pay a levy every time a French user clicks on a banner or sponsored link on its sites.

Guillaume Cerutti, one of the authors of the report, said the tax would put an end to "enrichment without any limit or compensation".

Olivier Esper, Google France's general director, called on the government to "favour co-operation" rather than "a logic of opposition between the worlds of internet and culture". (© Daily Telegraph, London)

Irish Independent