France Mulls Over New Smartphone And Tablet Tax

How does a government earn its keep and run the country well? Apart from borrowing more money than it can ever repay, resulting in an ever growing national debt year on year, you could always find new ways to stem the bleeding by increasing government coffers, and one of the most commonly used methods would be to introduce new taxes as well as higher rates for prevailing taxes. Well, it seems that the romantic country of France might usher in a tax for new smartphones and tablets, in a potentially abrasive move which could strain the relations between France and the tech world even more.

No thanks to an economy that is sputtering, France wants to figure out new methods to fund its cultural projects, which so happen to be shielded from cuts. One of the possible ways would be to levy a new tax on technology companies, with Apple and Google being a couple of high profile names, considering how Apple’s iPhone and iPad in addition to the slew of Android-powered products from Google have taken the world by storm. Could this new tax assist in funding as consumers spend more money on hardware than content? Perhaps, but the introduction of this new tax could see a fall in new hardware purchases as folks figure out it is just not worth it any more, placing the government in a potentially precarious position either way.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: france, Smartphones