Really dumb French email tax proposal

French conservative MEP Alain Lamassoure wants the budget-strapped EU to tax sms and email:

For email, the rate could be as little as €0.00001. “This is peanuts, but given the billions of transactions every day, this could still raise an immense income.”

Ironport’s data suggests that global email volume for 2006 will be in excess of 1000B messages. If we assume the EU’s share of this to be roughly proportional to it’s share of global GDP (receding from 18%), then Mr Lamassoure’s tax on email might raise in the region of €2M pa, excluding admin costs, which, given the EU’s record, would certainly exceed revenues. Before translation starts, each MEP costs approaching €2.5M, suggesting that getting rid of Mr Lamassoure might be smarter. With friends like this, why fear Iran?

Trevor @ 9 May 2006 10:14 PM

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Comments

1. I like your style » Blog Archive » Nouvel Impôt de la Dictature Social-démocrate
   10:36 AM on 21 May 2006

   [...] “Really dumb French email tax proposal” [...]

2. simotnrask
   4:05 PM on 27 May 2006

   taxes is something u put on oil and stuff.. emails.. cmon.. first its good for the economy to boost information, second .. what will it cost to monitor the traffic and put out the charges?.. making an anonymous emailaccount outside EU is.. ehm.. not even a challenge

3. von Klein
   8:01 AM on 29 May 2006

   If it moves, tax it
   If it still moves, regulate it
   If it stops moving, subsidize it.

4. Åke Arvidsson
   12:46 PM on 30 May 2006

   REALLY IDIOTIC SUGGESTION INDEED..

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