Slashdot Mirror
France Considers 'Pirate Tax' For Online Ads
angry tapir writes "A report commissioned by the French Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand, urges the introduction of a tax on online advertising such as that carried by Google, which would be used to pay the creators of artistic and other works that lose out to online piracy."
The tax on blank CD/DVD's never was about legalizing illegal copying, but it was to subsidize those who were hurt by it. You can have both, but simple people probably think that the tax was there to allow your illegal activities.
Better idea: tax creators of artistic works and use it to pay online advertisers who lose money due to fraudulent clicks.
I know your tongue is firmly in your cheek, but if they did that you'd pay a tax to post on slashdot. I mean, define art. Art historians have a hard time doing it even. I had an art history class where the instructor showed slides of what was in art galleries in the 1890s, and there was no impressionism or anything else you see in today's museums. Most of what's in today's galleries is unlikely to be in 22nd century museums. And there are all sorts of art; writing is an art form.
If they tax art, they'll have to tax all creativity.
And since Google's homepage often contains variations on its trademark celebrating various events (I particularly liked this year's homage to Newton), they'd pay a tax and get the tax right back whether the French idea or yours was implimented.
It sounds like a lose-lose propositions to me.
BTW and OT, your sig is incorrect. +5 funny gains no karma (but you'll at least get a "the comedian" in your achievements page), and some moderators have no sense of humor and will mod you troll, flamebait, or if they don't get the joke, offtopic.
Want good karma? Post interestingly, informatively, or insightfully. And be polite; an insightful but brash comment will almost always get you modded down.
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