French General Tax Code
In forceI. - A tax on the physical video and online distribution of audiovisual content is due in respect of operations:
1° The sale and rental in France of videograms intended for the private use of the public;
2° The making available to the public in France of services giving access to cinematographic or audiovisual works for a consideration, upon individual request made by an electronic communication process;
3° The making available to the public in France of services giving or allowing access to audiovisual content free of charge, upon individual request made by an electronic communication process. Services whose audiovisual content is secondary, services whose main purpose is devoted to information, and services whose main purpose is to provide information about cinematographic and audiovisual works and their distribution to the public and to promote them, in particular by means of extracts or trailers, are exempt.
The operations mentioned in 1° are deemed to be carried out in France when they are carried out for the purposes of value added tax pursuant to I bis of Section I of Chapter I of Title II of Part One of Book I of the General Tax Code.
The services referred to in 2° and 3° are deemed to be made available to the public in France when they are provided to persons not subject to value added tax who are established, have their domicile or habitual residence in France.
II. - Persons, whether established in France or outside France, who:
1° Sell or rent videograms in France to any person who does not himself or herself engage in the business of selling or renting videograms;
2° Make services mentioned in 2° of I available to the public in France;
3° Make services mentioned in 3° of the same I available to the public in France, in particular those whose business is to publish online public communication services or to ensure the storage of audiovisual content for the purpose of making it available to the public via online public communication services;
4° Collect sums mentioned in 3° of III.
III. - The tax is based on the amount, excluding value added tax:
1° Of the price paid in return for the sales and rental transactions mentioned in 1° of I;
2° Of the price paid in return for access to cinematographic and audiovisual works mentioned in 2° of the same I;
3° Of the sums paid by advertisers and sponsors, for the broadcasting of their advertising and sponsorship messages on the services mentioned in 2° and 3° of said I, to the taxpayers concerned. The sums paid by a person mentioned in 4° of II to a person mentioned in 3° of the same II are included in the tax base due by the latter and excluded from the tax base due by the person mentioned in 4° of the same II. These sums are subject to a deduction of 66% for services providing or enabling access to audiovisual content created by private users for the purposes of sharing and exchange within communities of interest.
IV. - Not included in the tax base:
1° The sums paid by advertisers and sponsors, for the broadcast of their advertising and sponsorship messages on catch-up television services, which are already subject to the tax provided for in articles L. 115-6 to L. 115-13 of the Code du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée;
2° For taxpayers established in France, the amount paid in respect of a tax due for the transactions mentioned in I of this article in another Member State of the European Union, other than value added tax.
V. - The rate of tax is set at 5.15%. It is increased to 15% when the transactions concern cinematographic or audiovisual works or documents of a pornographic nature or inciting to violence. The conditions under which taxpayers identify these works and documents are set by decree.
For the taxpayers mentioned in 1° of II, the tax is calculated after applying a 65% allowance to the tax base. This allowance does not apply when the transactions mentioned in 1° of III concern cinematographic or audiovisual works or documents of a pornographic nature or inciting violence.
For the taxpayers mentioned in 3° and 4° of II, the tax is calculated after application of an allowance of €100,000 on the tax base. This deduction is divided between the persons mentioned in 3° and 4° of I in proportion to the respective base established for each of them.
The tax is payable under the same conditions as those applicable to value added tax.
It is established, liquidated, recovered and controlled according to the same procedures and under the same sanctions, guarantees, securities and privileges as value added tax. Claims are lodged, investigated and judged according to the rules applicable to that same tax.
VI. - The proceeds of the tax are allocated to the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée.
