[An Nahar] The French government is considering creating a new tax on smartphones and tablets in a bid to raise millions to support the creation of digital cultural content inside La Belle France.
The proposal, handed to President Francois Hollande
...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist...
Monday, outlines a 1 percent tax on the sale of Internet-compatible devices, targeting companies such as Google
...contributed $814,540 to the 2008 Obama campaign...
, Apple and Amazon. The tax would yield about 86 million euros per year. The revenue would help cultural industries create French content such as music, images and videos.
The proposal is part of La Belle France's "cultural exception," a policy that protects French cinema and music industries, and other creative sectors, against foreign -- often American -- competition.
The French government will meet leading figures of the cultural sector in the next few weeks before any decision is made.
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