France to explore "Google tax" to pay creative work Sophie HardachThu Jan 7, 2010 Speaking to leaders and representatives of the arts and entertainment sector, he also said he wanted the country's antitrust body to rule on whether Google enjoys a dominant market position in online advertising. "For the time being, these companies are taxed in the country in which they are headquartered even though they make up a big part of our advertising market," he said. Sarkozy's comments followed a media report saying France could start taxing Internet advertising revenues from online giants such as Google, using the funds to support creative industries that have been hit by the digital revolution. The proposal, put forward in a government-commissioned survey, is France's latest challenge to the virtual free-for-all for Internet content. The country has caused controversy in the past with some of the world's harshest laws on online piracy. The levy, which would