EC bans TV taxes for telcos
October 1, 2010
As anticipated the European Commission has ruled that the TV taxes levied by the French and Spanish governments on telcos to support their respective public national broadcasters and compensate for the removal of advertising, are incompatible with EU law.
The EC has ruled taxes levied on telco operators must be directly linked to covering the costs of regulation of the telecom sector. France and Spain now have two months to propose new measures that fall within the rules, otherwise they will be referred to the European Court of Justice.
The EC estimated Spain’s tax would contribute E230 million and France’s about E400 million to their respective broadcasters.