Telefonica Rejects Proposed Telecoms Tax To Support State TV
20 5월 2009 - 9:36PM
Dow Jones News
Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF) said Wednesday it opposes a new tax
Spain's government is proposing for telecommunications companies to
compensate for phasing out advertising at state-owned television
station TVE.
"It's an additional tax that doesn't have anything to do with
the (telecommunications) sector, and doesn't benefit us at all,"
head of Spanish operations Guillermo Ansaldo said on the sidelines
of a mobile fair.
Earlier this month, Spain's government said it had drafted a law
to levy a 0.9% tax on the gross revenue of telecommunications
operators and a 3% tax on the gross revenue of private television
stations to compensate for phasing out advertising at TVE.
Ansaldo added Telefonica was still studying the new legal
framework, but didn't rule out an appeal to Spain's
telecommunications regulator or the European Commission.
Telefonica SA (TEF), Vodafone PLC (VOD) and France Telecom SA
(FTE) are the company's biggest telecom operators and will likely
be most severely affected by the tax.
The new legal changes still need parliamentary approval,
although analysts say they are likely to be approved. A TVE labor
union with access to the plan said earlier this month TVE would
drop advertising as of September.
Company Web site: www.telefonica.com
-By Jason Sinclair, Dow Jones Newswires; 34 913958127;
jason.sinclair@dowjones.com