The CEOs of France's four biggest operators, France Telecom-Orange, SFR, Iliad and Bouygues Telecom have called for the government to completely rethink the digital communications sector's tax structure in an open letter in Le Monde. Operators have seen a hike in the Cosip tax to fund French film and TV production, a change to corporation tax, a VAT hike on the TV component of multi-play bundles and the financing of public broadcaster France Televisions. France's telecom industry produces 2.3 percent of GDP, invest EUR 6 billion a year and employ 120,000 people, which merits benign neutrality if not outright support, they write. Not only does the government see telecoms operators as a rich source of income but it asks them to build new networks and cut prices. The CEOs express surprise that only network operators are being hit, when the online services and equipment sectors, where foreign companies dominate, are nearly exempt from taxes and regulation. The letter is expected to relaunch the debate on the so-called Google Tax, a proposed 1 percent levy on online advertising which could generate EUR 10 billion-EUR 20 billion in the first year. The operators say the only structurally viable approach is to expand taxation to the whole digital value chain and to all businesses that benefit from the growth of the sector. Perhaps pressure on France to improve its finances will lead it to look to internet giants for some income.
