EU to tax e-mail, text messages?

[empip]

European Union lawmakers are investigating a proposed tax on e-mails and mobile phone text messages as a way to fund the 25-member bloc in the future....
.. Lamassoure, a member of Jacques Chirac's UMP party, is proposing to add a tax of about 1.5 cents on text or SMS messages and a 0.00001 cent levy on every e-mail 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 yearlong battle over the current seven-year budget, agreed on last December, it was decided that the way in which the EU is funded should be changed, with new proposals expected by 2008/2009...

Woo .. So much happening 2008-10 ... I bet most of it is a monumental F/up as per usual !
By then the Pope may be DPM, Tone may be Pope and big John - will be bigger Jon -

 

[WoodYouLike]

What happened to 'freedom of publication'? i.e among other things no VAT (tax) on newspapers, magazines, books?

 

[vokera80e]

One day i can see the window tax coming back...as anybody got any spare bricks... one day in the future i wonder if they will be able to calculate how much air we breath each day,and then slap a tax on that.
....or if they find out that we've been to the loo more than once.
What's it coming to.

Could there ever be a tax on playing croquet.?

 

[JohnD]

I see it's an idea floated by one individual.

But I particularly like the idea that spammers will have to pay a tiny amount for every unwanted message. As some of them send millions to trap a single idiot punter, it might add up.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Problem is, you first have to find the spammer. Which is already not easy (otherwise providers would ban them much sooner and harder)

 

[empip]

I see it's an idea floated by one individual.
....

Yes, but from a leading nation ... a prominent French MEP and member of the center-right European People's Party, the assembly's largest group.
And when the establishment starts making money for doing sfa, the providers start wanting some too .... 'tip your wallets up' time - again - folks !

 

[JohnD]

Problem is, you first have to find the spammer...

I wouldn't have to. His ISP would have to collect it.

...Which is already not easy (otherwise providers would ban them much sooner and harder)

And if the provider had to pay 100,000,000,000,000 taxes at 0.00001 cent each, they might try a bit harder, and not allow it to happen unless they had a verified way of getting the money out of their customer.

 

[WoodYouLike]

you have a good point

 

[empip]

If Govns become involved it will cost us all money, we will pay the ISP's to rid the spammers.. which of course they will fail to do... So we will end up where we are now but with lighter pockets .. Keep Govn out of the Web.. They'll not stop at tiny taxes..

 

[Thermo]

One day i can see the window tax coming back...as anybody got any spare bricks...

bet you a brick tax comes in on the same day!

 

[empip]

Here's a happy tune ....They'll call it sand tax..