France: YouTube tax rebate cancelled
November 2, 2026

From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris



The French National Assembly has announced two amendments to the 2027 finance bill, modifying the taxation of video platforms. The first increases the tax on ad revenues from free video platforms, the second one introduces a temporary exemption for French channels’ digital platforms. Neither provision is final and they remain subject to the parliamentary procedure.

MPs in the country have thus completely removed the 66 per cent tax rebate enjoyed by free video sharing platforms, such as YouTube, as part of the tax on advertising broadcast through access services to audiovisual content on demand (TSV-G). Until now, only 34 per cent of their advertising revenues were within the tax bracket.


Explaining the decision in a statement, deputies denounced a distortion of competition among French television channels, while digital platforms continue to capture a growing share of advertising investments.

MPs have also voted for a three-year TSV-G exemption for VoD services owned by publishers of TV channels and who are mainly airing their own content. MPs highlighted the technological and editorial investments necessary for the digital transformation of French audiovisual groups, while recalling that the channels already incur specific taxation on their advertising revenues.