EU to probe French ad tax plans

The EU is to investigate plans by the French government to tax private broadcasters in an attempt to help publicly owned TV channels, according to reports.

Private broadcasters including TF1 and M6 are against the tax, which will be between 1.5% and 3% of their advertising revenue. It will be used to fill the gap left by the government’s decision earlier this year to end advertising on public channels. The European Commission is yet to decide whether launch a formal investigation into the scheme.