French lawmakers on both sides unite to spear Amazon

[Surya Gayatri]

Source: France24



In a rare show of unity, French lawmakers from the ruling Socialist Party and the opposition conservative UMP party jointly approved a law on Thursday to protect independent book stores from online retailers like Amazon.

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Traditional book sellers in France, including small independent shops, have complained that Amazon’s combined practices of offering books at a 5% discount and dispatching them to customers at no additional charge undermine their already struggling business.

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The new amendment bars retailers from offering free shipping on a new book sold at a discounted price.

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The law is also unlikely to be the last of Amazon’s woes in France. Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti has blasted the online retail giant for dodging most taxes by basing its French operations in neighboring Luxembourg.

Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20131003-national-assembly-amazon-book-law-free-shipping-competition-ump-socialist-lang

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Hope French lawmakers keep skewering Amazon for off-shoring their profits in Luxembourg.

France has been criticized in the past for its fixed-book-price policy that is said to breach the European Union's common-market accords. OTOH, France is standing up for its independent bookshop owners, who are well-loved and considered important in the French cultural landscape.

[dipsydoodle]

1. "France has been criticized in the past for its fixed-book-price policy"

I can remember the time when some books couldn't be exported to the UK from the US due to wholly different pricing structures so then I guess the UK had the same policy as France too.

The biggest scam with Amazon is operating through Luxembourg , whose corporate tax rate is only 5% or so , and just using other countries for "warehousing".

[tecelote]

2. Free Shipping... It's easier to be compettitive if you don't pay taxes.

Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti has blasted the online retail giant for dodging most taxes by basing its French operations in neighboring Luxembourg.

- I have to strongly agree with this one. Even here in the US, Amazon avoids paying taxes. Companies that make their money in our country should pay their taxes here. It infuriates me even more when companies like Halliburton take their war profits and refuse to pay US taxes.

[Nye Bevan]

3. "Banning free shipping" on discounted books? How forward thinking.

Like blacksmiths when automobiles started to catch on, bricks and mortar retailers need to figure out how to adapt to the internet age. There is not much of a future in competing head-to-head with the likes of Amazon.

[geek tragedy]

4. What next, banning pleasant customer service reps? This is anti-consumer, plain and simple, nt

[Lenomsky]

5. Anti-Consumer?

We subsidize far too many Corporate Entities .. what about they pay their fair share in TAX like the little guy does.

We should subsidize some High Street Stores and keep a living breathing Community.
Where I live it's Charity Stores and empty commercial premises.

Cheap interweb goods is good but we should not forsake local stores.

[geek tragedy]

6. Then TAX them, don't ban them from providing benefits to consumers. nt

[BlueJazz]

7. I stand with France. fuck Amazon