French TV Group Demands Moratorium On Audiovisual Tax

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

09 October 2009

The Director General of the French television group Canal+, and president of the Association of private channels, Bertrand Méheut, has urged the government to grant a moratorium on the new tax which is to be levied on private channels, and has called for the introduction of the tax to be delayed until the end of 2011.

Designed to finance the controversial ban on advertising on public television (France Télévisions), the government intends to levy a tax of 1.5% on advertising revenue from private channels TF1 and M6, and a 3% tax on Canal+.

Relying on the “wisdom of the government,” Bertrand Méheut has appealed to the government to delay the introduction of the proposed tax until 2011, underlining the fact that MPs from the Union for a Popular Movement (l’Union pour un Mouvement Populaire – UMP) also endorse a moratorium.

The ban on advertising on public television has been introduced progressively. Earlier in the year, a ban was initially imposed after 8.00pm. A complete ban will be in place by the end of 2011 – the date when broadcasting on analogue television is also due to cease.

Given the recent “global losses” incurred by private channels, Méheut has emphasised that the new tax on advertising turnover is simply unacceptable.

Designed to improve the overall quality of programming by imposing a ban on advertising, Sarkozy’s radical reform was announced in January.

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