France eyes electronics tax for public TV: report
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France could tax new computer, television  and mobile phone sales by 1 to 2 percent to help fund its  state-owned TV channels, Les Echos newspaper reported on  Thursday.
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The French Government is to sell part of its stake in France Telecom to help reduce the country's debt, the finance ministry says.
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France signalled it will slash its public overspending next year to come into line with EU rules in a 2005 budget published on Wednesday and forecast economic growth of 2.5 percent.
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The cost of a television licence fee is likely to go up in line with inflation, government sources have revealed.
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PARIS / LONDON: France said on Wednesday it will sell up to 12.1% of France Telecom to raise â¬5.8 billion ($6.9bn) and help cut national debt in Europeâs largest placing in four years.
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French finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy unveils a budget promising to bring the deficit under control.
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European Union regulators said Wednesday they're investigating France's proposed tax break for video game makers to see if it's an illegal subsidy.
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Mark Thompson says government will have to provide more money for public service broadcasting
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Agence France-Presse made net profits of three million euros (3.9 million dollars) in 2006, chief executive Pierre Louette announced, which will be invested in the agency's video and multimedia services.
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The European Commission on Friday said it was scrutinising a French tax scheme under which Vivendi Universal unlocked â¬3.8 billion ($4.
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The French government said it would offer companies tax breaks and other incentives worth more than one billion euros (1.2 billion dollars) to encourage them to keep jobs in the country rather than outsource them.
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MUMBAI: Satellite television provider, Direc TV in a regulatory filing on Friday said that it may take up to $1.6 billion in pre - tax charges to write down the value of satellites it would use for broadcasting instead of high-speed data services.
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Vivendi Universal SA has reached a deal with French authorities to change its tax reporting in a way that will boost its bottom line, the entertainment and telecommunications giant said Thursday.
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The European Commission has received a  formal complaint that a levy on electronic gadgets to  compensate for private copying of music distorts the EU's  internal market, a top Commission official said on Wednesday.
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(InfoWorld) - Germany plans to introduce a monthly broadcast charge next year for homes and businesses that have an Internet-connected computer and don't already pay registration fees for television and radio service. One business association has called it "a complete rip-off." A heated debate about the fee, which also applies to Internet-enabled wireless devices and games consoles, has been raging in Germany since the minister presidents of the country's 16 states agreed to the plan in October 2005. It heated up again late Wednesday when one of the country's largest public broadcasters, ARD, announced a monthly fee of â¬5.52 ($7.00) per household and said that ZDF, another big public broadcaster, was in agreement. Under the plan, which will go into effect Jan. 1, households and businesses with a registered TV or radio are exempt from the new charge. Those without a registered broadcasting device but with an Internet-enabled PC, wireless device, or game console capable of receiving broadcasting content must pay the new fee. Germany isn't alone on this front. Ireland also plans to extend the definition of a TV set to include PCs, laptops and mobile phones under a new broadcasting bill, which was published for public consultation earlier this month. And the issue is likely to arise in other countries that use a broadcasting fee to help finance their state-funded public broadcasters. The planned fee in Germany, although lower than the â¬17.03 monthly charge initially proposed, has nevertheless drawn sharp criticism from numerous industry groups in the country. The German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (Bitkom) has called it "a rotten compromise that is being cemented into a payment scheme long overdue for change." The association calculates that over a four-year period, a PC would generate fee-based costs of more than â¬800 -- nearly the net price of the machine. German businesses could be burdened with additional costs of more than â¬150 million annually. The Federal Association of Small and Medium-size Businesses in Germany views an extension of the broadcasting fee as an attempt to force companies to help plug holes in the dwindling coffers of public broadcasters. The association called the move "a complete rip-off." Although the fee calls for a review in three years to take into account new technological developments, such as mobile phones capable of receiving broadcasts signals, German businesses worry that once a fee is introduced in the country, it's likely to stay.
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The French government will give up at least five percent of its stake in France Telecom and use the money to reduce national debt, Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said in a statement Sunday.
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French finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy unveils a budget with a promise to bring the deficit under control and high-profile tax breaks.