Forthnet: New Greek tax on pay TV ‘extremely harmful’
Athens-listed Forthnet’s chief executive Panos Papadopoulos explained on Monday why the imminent imposition of a special tax on pay TV in Greece will be “extremely harmful” to Greek pay-TV platforms, saying “it would create extremely burdensome conditions of unfair competition in favor of foreign companies that cannot be taxed in Greece.”
Forthnet’s chief added, “The imposition of a special tax on pay TV will produce ripple effects in other fields too, such as Greek sports and the Greek cinema, given that Greek pay-TV service providers are the main – if not the only – sponsors of the Greek clubs in all sports through TV rights, and Greek cinema through co-productions.”
He also pointed out that the imposition of a special tax on pay TV will be a huge mistake, as it will shrink the pay-TV market in Greece and will thus have the exact opposite of the desired results for the state coffers.
Apart from VAT and taxes, Greek pay-TV providers already pay up to 3 percent of their total revenues for their satellite broadcasting license plus a percentage of their revenues to the Center for Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind, collective management organizations and others, Papadopoulos stressed.
