The Generalitat moves towards a tax on ADSL to promote the audiovisual sector

The operators would pay 0.25 euros per month for each contracted line, thus obtaining funds for the Catalan audiovisual sector.

This Tuesday, the Catalan Government approved the preliminary report of the draft law to create a tax on Internet operators, with the aim of obtaining funds to boost the Catalan audiovisual sector.

The Generalitat intends to tax 0.25 euros per month on each line contracted in Catalonia with an Internet connection, including mobile telephone lines. With this measure, it hopes to raise around 20.5 million euros, which would be entirely used to subsidize the Catalan audiovisual sector and spread the use of the Internet.

The Minister of Culture of the Generalitat, Ferran Mascarell, has announced that the new tax will be able to be applied after the summer. Mascarell has indicated that the Executive has opted for a “similar model” to that of other European countries, so he does not see any danger of Europe ruling against the tax, and has stated that this new rate “will not be able to have an impact” on users.

AMETIC has already warned that if this tax is applied they will initiate legal actions at the regional, national and European level. The employers' association that brings together operators and technology manufacturers has reiterated its frontal opposition to the fee per Internet connection for each user and has insisted that, if this rate becomes a reality, it will make the decisions and adopt the measures it deems most appropriate in defense of the interests of associated operators.

For his part, Sergi Casamitjana, director of the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC) of Terrassa, defends that "it is up to the Department of Culture of the Generalitat to make a responsible policy that favors Catalan cinema and not leave it in the hands of Internet operators to obtain resources."