Amendment targets advertising redirection

A proposed amendment to the 2027 budget bill aims to extend a public advertising investment redirection mechanism to include magazine and specialized press. The change would allow these publications to benefit from funds redirected from digital platforms, similar to how political and general news outlets currently do.

Sub-amendment submitted by Denis Masséglia

On October 30, Deputy Denis Masséglia from the Ensemble pour la République party submitted a sub-amendment to the 2027 finance bill. This amendment seeks to expand the redirection mechanism to all online press services recognized by the Parity Commission for Publications and News Agencies (CPPAP).

Main amendment introduces advertising tax

The main amendment, I-3992, supported by Philippe Juvin from the Droite républicaine party, proposes an annual tax of 0.5% on companies spending at least one million euros per year on advertising in France. Companies could avoid this tax by redirecting a portion of their digital advertising expenses to online news services.

Redirection limits and rationale

The proportion of digital advertising expenses that companies can redirect is to be set by decree, with a maximum of 15%. The rationale for this approach is that the press supports nearly 40% of the production cost of political and general information but receives less than 10% of the advertising market revenue.

Support for broader inclusion

Denis Masséglia argues that magazine and specialized press also suffer from the capture of advertising revenues by major digital platforms. He emphasizes that the goal is to ensure the benefits of the mechanism are not limited to political and general information publishers alone.