France floats Google music-and-movie tax France should tax Google and other online US giants to subsidize local music and movie industries, a report commissioned by the country's culture ministry has recommended. A new proposal to tax internet advertising revenue was among the recommendations offered by the government-appointed panel. Money raised would finance the …
No new ideas then.
Taxing doesn't work. It never does no matter what the purpose. Google will just go off shore like they have here where they're based in Ireland. If they aim the tax at the actual advertisers and therefore French companies who can't go off shire then I'm sure the companies will cry foul as it becomes anti competitive with other European companies.
Anti piracy efforts can't work as the pirates (like terrorists) are always looking for the weak points and law only come in after the fact and way too late (like extra security).
The new ideas needed would be to take advantage of the net and use it to it's best advantage in new business models that actually work for both the producer and consumer rather than the current method of benefiting just the producer (and even then it's the record company not the musician who is benefiting at the moment).
Let me get this straight: the "music-and-movie" industries are failing because they REFUSE to adapt to current market needs, so internet companies must prop them up?
On what grounds? Because piracy happens on the internet? I'm sorry, but that is just stupid. Of all the retarded things the french gov't has come up with so far, this may just be the stupidest.
French people, do something about your government!!
" It recommended that France should rally other European nations to support its anti-piracy efforts."
I'm sorry, what anti-piracy efforts? Taxation isn't punishment, it's taxation. And in this case saying where the money goes means setting up an income dependency for those who most likely don't even want to earn money that way.
I'd love to support anti-piracy efforts, but then first come up with some, instead of with a tea party.
Second this post.
If you're going to consider piracy a crime, then by all means set-up punitive measures that discourage the practice. But don't punish internet companies to prop up victims of the crime. What did the internet companies do to deserve this?
And anyway, taxation isn't supposed to be financing restitution for victims, it's supposed to fund public projects where the government adds value. How exactly is the french government really adding value here? It's not really preventing the crime by addressing the causes (an industry that won't adapt), it's just dreaming up more draconian punishments that are a waste of time and money.
Thats not even one step removed from the days when, for example in the UK, the state censored plays which had to be approved by the Lord Chancellor. I beleive certain regimes have penalties for "unapproved songs". I can imagine that something politically sarcastic about a current leader might suddenly lead to the artist concerned no longer being officially accesible, s/he might still get the cult/underground "airplay" but there's not a lot of income with that to pay the bills, mortgage etc
Errr, yes. French culture. Quite famous. Especially for design, art, literature, poetry, clothing and food.
I hope you're from Italy or somewhere.
However, I suspect you're British in which case quite a large proportion of our culture is derived from the French.
Worse, you could be American, in which case your comment is hilarious.
Only makes sense to tax for products and services provided in a geographical area. Nothing wrong with that. It should hit everyone. The thing is that I'm assuming most local advertising services and others already pay TAX to the government for this. The problem is all the outside area companies that don't.
So the plan sounds nice until you get to this bit right over here:
It recommended that France should rally other European nations to support its anti-piracy efforts.
Erm... go rally your own people ffs.... Leave the rest of us out of your Napoleonic schemes of ruling that bit of dirt called France.
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