Spain to place tax on service providers, TV stations

If you're a service provider or television station conducting business in Spain, your life is going to get a bit more difficult. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the country's Parliament this week approved a proposed tax on telecom companies. The tax will be used to fund the phasing out of advertising at RTVE, the country's state-owned television station. France Telecom and Telefonica, the region's largest telecom service providers, will feel the biggest effect of the new law.

Under the proposed law, which still needs Senate approval, Spain's government will levy a 0.9 percent tax on a service provider's gross revenue from the previous year and a 3 percent tax on revenue from "free-to-air" (broadcast) television stations. Meanwhile, the government will place a 1.5 percent tax on gross revenues from pay television stations. Initially, Spain's government proposed a 1.5 percent tax rate on telecommunications companies, but the Parliament decided to reduce it to 0.9 percent.

For more:
- Wall Street Journal has this report

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