Eu Wanting To Tax Texts And Emails

[Albert Tatlock]

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers are investigating a proposed tax on emails and mobile phone text messages as a way to fund the 25-member bloc in the future.

 

A European Parliament working group is reviewing the idea, tabled by Alain Lamassoure, a prominent French MEP and member of the centre-right European People's Party, the assembly's largest group.

 

Lamassoure, a member of Jacques Chirac's UMP party, is proposing to add a tax of around 1.5 cents (0.8 pence) on text or SMS messages and a 0.00001 cent levy on every email sent.

 

"This is peanuts, but given the billions of transactions every day, this could still raise an immense income," he said.

 

Currently the EU budget is funded through a combination of import duties, value added tax revenues and direct contributions from member states -- the so-called "Gross National Income resource", which is calculated according to wealth.

 

However, following a year-long battle over the current seven-year budget, agreed last December, it was decided that the way in which the EU is funded should be changed, with new proposals expected by 2008/2009.

 

A single "EU tax" has found support among many of the 25 EU governments, MEP's and the European Commission, the EU's executive arm. Other ideas include a tax on airline tickets and an extra levy on oil companies.

 

In Italy, the concept of a tax on texting was floated in the past, as a way to help offset the country's huge deficit, although it was flatly rejected by the outgoing government.

 

But Lamassoure argues that with billions of emails and texts sent around the world, it's a novel and simple way to raise funds from new technology.

 

"Exchanges between countries have ballooned, so everyone would understand that the money to finance the EU should come from the benefits engendered by the EU," he said.

[Owen]

That's a pretty nutty idea. However, it would put the Isle of Man in an interesting position in that it could supply the provision of tax-free e-mail services to the European market ....

 

 

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[simon]

Talk about blowing a story out of all proportion! One member proposed the idea. Just one member.

 

On the same basis CNET and Reuters could perhaps report that the British Parliament is considering charging George Bush and PM Blair with war crimes. Given that one member of the British Parliament, George Galloway MP, has proposed this.

[x-in-man]

On the same basis CNET and Reuters could perhaps report that the British Parliament is considering charging George Bush and PM Blair with war crimes. Given that one member of the British Parliament, George Galloway MP, has proposed this.

 

Not dear George Gal(oil all the)way! How could he.