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Paris (AFP) - France is looking to decide this year on how it might tax US online giants Google, Amazon and Netflix to help fund its heavily subsidised film and television sector in response to changes brought on by Internet video streaming. Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin told http://kingkhhm.iloveblog.com Les Echos business newspaper in an interview published Thursday "different paths" were being looked at on the French and EU levels to make sure the Internet majors contributed, and she wanted "to find a solution" by the end of this year. "It's an urgent issue for the financing of French production, which they (the US Internet companies) profit from because they are also advertisers," she said. "I have no doubt the solutions France will come up with will also interest Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland." The comments were the latest sign source that France is determined to protect its audiovisual sector, and will counter any attempts by the big American companies to avoid French taxes used to support domestic productions. French President Francois Hollande said in October that European laws on audiovisual services should be overhauled so that digital companies based outside of Europe but streaming to European customers are subject to the same taxes as European firms. View check it out gallery France may tax streaming video providers, such as Amazon, to bolster the state-subsidised French TV France has already taken a first step this year by changing its laws to compel online companies located outside of the country but selling to French consumers to pay sales tax.
More: http://news.yahoo.com/france-looking-taxing-netflix-amazon-fund-film-tv-130556154.html