They say that MacUser HQ’s home state, Massachusetts, has a lot of taxes, but even they don’t have the gall to try and tax my sweet, sweet iPod. Not so with our great neighbor to the north. Canada has long charged a levy on blank recordable media like CD-Rs, MiniDiscs, and audio cassettes, since they can be used to copy sound recordings in an unauthorized manner. Proceeds from the tariff are distributed to songwriters, publishers, and record labels.
Having in the past attempted and failed to enact a tax on the digital media in MP3 players (hard drives and flash memory), the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) now wants to levy a charge on memory cards and MP3 players:
“Our view is that devices such as the iPod are recording media,” said David Basskin, CPCC board member. “They meet the definition under the copyright act by which a levy can be collected. They are a medium that can be used to copy a sound recording that’s ordinarily used for that purpose by individuals.But what if I’m just transferring materials I’ve already bought from iTunes or on CD? Is that illegal under Canadian law? The levy could be as high as $75 on digital recorders.“The reason that that people use iPods and similar things is to copy sound recordings, and when they do so they are not infringing copyright, and the tradeoff for that is that a levy is charged.”
While reimbursing creators for the unauthorized copying of their materials is a noble cause, I have to ask a few questions: first, does Canada charge a tax on blank paper since you can, you know, photocopy stuff on it? And second, what if I’m just buying blank CDs so I can backup my (totally copyright-infringing free) data? Thirdly, why are “Cell phones, personal computers and hand-held computers are excluded from the proposed tariff?” Seems like a bit of an arbitrary distinction. I can listen to all the music I want, as long as I do it on my computer?
According to the article linked above, a majority of Canadians (60%) believe that musicians should be compensated when their tracks are copied without authorization. So what say you, our readers from the north: is this a fair tradeoff, or an undue punishment on consumers?
[Thanks Lawrence & Sarah]
I aggree, they should tax blank paper... and why stop at that !
Seriously, I hope they fail miserably, and then some... You are right when you call it an arbitrary distinction. It's making buyers of iPods "and similar things" pay for those who steal music... It's insane, but when money is concerned, people tend to get that way. I'm not surprise, irritated, but not surprised.
I'm a Canadian, and in the music industry. I'd have to say that the CPCC is BS. The money they collect only goes to the top grossing artists, who already have piles of money anyway. Plus, I hate the fact that I have to pay the tax on any CDs that I use to back up data off my hard drive. There is a way that you can become authorized to buy CDs without paying the duty, but you have to buy A LOT of CDs to make the yearly registration fee worthwhile. I vote to get rid of it.
As a Canadian, I can assure you this is total BS. Their stupidity is astonishing. In my eyes, this is as worse as the Universal/MS deal on the Zune, only 75 times worse, and the consumer actually has to pay for this. They think we're stealing the artists work when we copy it to our iPods...
The CD tax is as ridiculous; out of the 50 CDs I've burned in the last two years, about 5 of these were audio CDs of music that I owned. The rest was data.
I hope this never happens... Who wants to pay $475 instead of $400 canadian for an 80GB iPod?
Of course, their excuse is that we want this:
"According to the article linked above, a majority of Canadians (60%) believe that musicians should be compensated when their tracks are copied without authorization."
Um, hello idiots, do I need to request the artists' authorization to move their tracks from iTunes to my iPod? They just use a survey to twist the truth.
As a fellow Canadian, and a friend of Thomas GvL, I agree with many of his claims, but I wish to clarify a few things...
1) Regarding the Universal/Zune deal, it is not 75 times worse, because we are dealing with two, count them, two different currencies. If you were to have your facts straight, you would realize that it was only 64.4136 times worse. This is a correct figure.
2) When you say, "Who wants to pay $475 instead of $400 canadian for an 80GB iPod?" you are stating an incorrect fact. If you are talking about the price of a Canadian (capital 'C') 80GB iPod, plus the $75 levy, will only come to $474, NOT $475. Why you may ask? A Canadian 80GB iPod is not $400, it is $399.
Great comment Thomas GvL, but if you have something to say, make sure you have ALL the facts. There goes your chance of being a Macuser blogger...
Just Kidding :)