The French were not able to maintain their 75% tax on the super rich, so now they’re aiming for the super, super, super rich by going after companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Their latest scheme: an Internet tax that will affect those collecting personal data from French citizens. This concept emerged late last week in a report commissioned by President François Hollande that details the unfair ways that large American internet-based companies are able to circumvent the French tax system and still remain relevant to its citizens.
According to the report, personal data is the “raw material” that many internet firms use to generate revenue.
“They have a distinct value, poorly reflected in economic science or official statistics,” the report said.
This is part of a long line of creative ways the French government has tried to get many companies, Google in particular, to pay up. Their attempts to create a “link tax” fell apart earlier. French companies balked at a proposed “Google Tax” a couple of years ago because it would hurt them more than the search giant. If at first (and second, and third) you don’t succeed…
The 200-page report is currently being reviewed by Google. Their initial response: “The Internet offers huge opportunities for economic growth and employment in Europe, and we believe public policies should encourage that growth.”
On the other hand, there are other wings of the French and European governments that want to block Google’s and other companies’ abilities to collect data in the first place. If both elements get their way, we could see a tax levied on data that is not allowed to be collected.
