Vers Une Nouvelle Definition De La Prestation De Services

The standard definition of services, based on intangibility, never was completely convincing. The digitalization of the economy has rendered it less and less relevant. It nowadays triggers inconsistencies in fiscal or juridical rulings, where the e-book fiscal treatment is the most obvious one. A new economic approach of the service, referring to the unfeasibility of establishing ownership rights, was suggested by Hill (1999). It was adopted by the last revisions of the National Accounts. The paper explains its rationale and shows its practical convenience. This new approach clarifies the implementation of certain law rules and especially simplifies the fiscal treatment of information goods. It also reduces the heterogeneity within activity classifications. Finally, rather than focus on the external form of products, the new approach underlines the importance of the features of contracts that link the partners involved in a transaction. Given this aspect, it is in sympathy with law views.