textually.org: French MEP suggests EU tax on SMS and emails

May 10, 2006

French MEP suggests EU tax on SMS and emails

Alain Lamassouree, a senior centre-right French MEP, has suggested that the EU levy a tax on SMS and email messages in a debate on the union's future financing, reports the euobserver.

"Mr Lamassoure made his suggestion on Monday (8 May) in a financial working group as part of a joint European Parliament and national parliament conference on the future of Europe in Brussels.

"A small tax on an SMS from Paris to another French city could be allocated to the French government, but taxes on emails or SMS messages from Paris to Rome could be dedicated to the EU budget," he said.

"In France an SMS costs 15 cents (already outrageously high!). We could tax it by 1.5 cents, or less," the MEP added.

For email, the rate could be as little as €0.00001. "This is peanuts, but given the billions of transactions every day, this could still raise an immense income."

Actions in France against high prices of SMS and Telecoms collusion:

-- French consumer group targets mobile phone companies

-- French mobile phone firms fined

-- French consumer association calls for SMS boycott over prices

-- Consumer Advocate Group in France fights to bring down price of SMS

Related attempts to tax SMS elsewhere:

Italy
-- Italy 'text tax' sparks outrage

-- Mobile strike in Italy - July 15

Philippines
-- Palace clears up text tax confusion

-- 'Text tax' sparks cyber-protest in Philippines

-- Fight the TXT Tax!

-- Philippine gov't revives plan to tax text messaging