French Report Urges Tax on Net Advertising Companies

A report financed by the French government recommends that Google, MSN, Yahoo, and other big advertising companies -- as well as Internet service providers -- be taxed, with the revenue set to help fund the music and publishing sectors. Google is "profiting without any consideration" for music artists and book publishers, according to the report, written by Jacque Toubon, France's former minister of culture, Patrick Zelnick, a former music executive who produced French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's songs, and Guillaume Cerutti, an executive at Sotheby's France.