The European Commission, under pressure from protectionist European Union telecommunication firms, is drafting a proposal to force telephone service rivals from outside the community to charge value-added tax on services offered in Europe. With the Community firmly run by unreconstructed tax and spenders, the Commission is likely to encounter little resistance to the proposal it is working up to levy the sales tax on cheap callback services and calling cards at point of use rather than billing. Non-European Internet access providers and proprietary on-line service providers would also have to add the tax to the bills of subscribers in the European Community.
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