Legal Research

Blood from a computer?

By Mark Lewis

A recent proposal from France President Nicolas Sarkozy is either crazy, crazy like a fox, or trying to distract attention from his recent PR issues. I’m not quite sure which category the proposal falls into, maybe all three. From the International Herald Tribune, “Sarkozy proposes taxing new technology to finance the old.” More specifically, the proposal is to ban commercials from public television in France and make up for the lost revenue by taxing the internet and mobile phones. The proposal is to place an “infinitesimal” tax on internet and mobile phone connections and directing that tax revenue to cultural industries.

In Sarkozy’s words it “…would allow public TV to quit trying to match the popular but mind-numbing game shows and reality television that now dominate the schedules of private broadcasters for what Sarkozy called “purely mercantile” reasons. Instead, public broadcasters could focus on quality documentary, educational, and fiction programming.” ¹

I’m not quite sure what to make of this proposal. On the surface it doesn’t seem right to place a tax on access to the flow of information, but on the other hand, if this would be a hindrance to that person talking on their cell phone in the restaurant…….

Less significantly, what would this tax be called? The IT (Internet Tax)? WT (Web Tax)? WWWT? HttpT? Communication Tax?

1. Time

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on January 18, 2008 (boomark / email).