[governance] France Proposes an Internet Tax

[michael gurstein]

Thanks Bill, also very informative.

 

As an aside I'm wondering if we as a group might not want to try to avoid
specialized jargon and acronyms.  I know that I'm guilty of this as well
from time to time but we need to recognize that we are a multi-lingual,
multi-cultural group with a lot of people whose first language isn't Tech,
International Relations, International Trade and that's apart from those who
aren't able to communicate here in their other first languages :)

 

M

 

From: William Drake [mailto:william.drake at uzh.ch] 
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 5:30 AM
To: governance at lists.igcaucus.org; michael gurstein
Subject: Re: [governance] France Proposes an Internet Tax

 

Hi Mike

 

The GATS has 15 General Obligations and Disciplines (GODs).  Absent waivers
or other limitations, the key GODs of MFN and national treatment apply to
their scheduled services, and the EC schedule is quite liberalizing and
covers information services, which presumably includes the targeted "over
the top" services.  If instead you wanted to argue for a narrowly
content-based categorization, I've not looked at it in a decade but the EC
schedule is probably more restrictive regarding advertising services;
however, in this it's probably typical in not being reflective of
contemporary web-based transactions like what Google, FB etc. are up to
(could look on the WTO site). And of course, one could debate whether that
simple category would suffice here.  

 

In any event, despite all the intensive debate and rule making of the 1990s,
com ministries don't generally appear to be all that attentive to the GATS,
at least until the national trade ministries call and tell them there's a
complaint etc.  I've not detected much attention to it in the ITU in some
time, and certainly did not hear anyone talk about it or suggest it mattered
to what they were proposing in Dubai.

 

Bill

 

On Jan 22, 2013, at 9:35 PM, michael gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com> wrote:

 

Bill I'm very curious as to the specifics of your assertion below.

 

Could you provide?

 

Tks,

 

M

 

From:  <mailto:governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org>
governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org [mailto:governance-
<mailto:request at lists.igcaucus.org> request at lists.igcaucus.org] On Behalf Of
William Drake
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 12:23 PM
To:  <mailto:governance at lists.igcaucus.org> governance at lists.igcaucus.org;
Nick Ashton-Hart
Subject: Re: [governance] France Proposes an Internet Tax

 

 

On Jan 22, 2013, at 9:18 PM, Nick Ashton-Hart < <mailto:nashton at ccianet.org>
nashton at ccianet.org> wrote:

 

It would not be possible for a measure  to target foreign companies only -
that would breach France's WTO obligations (and that of many other countries
were they to try to do the same thing).

 

A small problem that seemed to receive zero discussion among the proponents
in Dubai

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