Now a watchdog for Google itself

Paris, Dec 15: There's trouble brewing for Google and being a market leader can pose its own disadvantages. France is all set to introduce, what it calls Google tax on online advertisements starting Jan 1, in a decision taken by the French parliament.

Google has a huge presence in online ads and holds 90% share of the search advertising business in France alone. This figure accounts for 43% of the global ad market, according to Strategy Analytics. France plans to introduce tax on companies based in France and will charge one percent of the net amount spent on online advertising.

Termed "Google Tax", the effort will be a direct tax on the search engine and its competitors. The proposal is yet to be approved in the Parliament. French President Nicolas Sarkozy had earlier called for additional tax on Google and its competitors.

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