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iPod Tax

New York Gov. Paterson Abandons "iPod Tax" Plan

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 13, 2009 - 9:48am.
New York - New York Gov. David Paterson has abandoned a $1.3 billion "nuisance tax" plan -- which included a tax on the sale of digital media downloads -- saying that a large infusion of federal stimulus funds has made the plan unnecessary, the New York Daily News reported.
tags: Law | Policy | Music | Movies | iPod Tax | David Paterson |

Japanese "iPod Tax" Plan Derailed for the Meantime

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 14, 2008 - 9:55am.

Tokyo - Japan has at least temporarily abandoned plans to enact an "iPod tax" that would have provided part of the cost of each device to copyright holders and recording artists, from presumed sales lost to piracy, officials there told the Associated Press.

tags: Piracy | Music | iPod | Apple | Japan | Copyright | Retail | iPod Tax |

Japan Scuttles Proposed "iPod Tax"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 2, 2005 - 10:33am.
Tokyo - A plan proposed by Japan's recording industry that would have added a tax of between 2% and 5% to the cost of portable MP3 players has been rejected by a committee appointed by the government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, The New York Times reported on Friday. Public criticism of the proposal, which the recording industry said was needed to compensate songwriters and copyright holders for digital music piracy losses, led the government to appoint professors and copyright lawyers to the committee; such a committee would usually have been stacked with record industry executives, The Times said. Committee spokesman Hiroyuki Suzuki told The Times the group was unable to reach a consensus, and as a result was forced to reject the proposal. A similar tax on MP3 players has been proposed in the Netherlands, while a Canadian court last year ruled that country's iPod tax to be illegal.
tags: Japan | iPod Tax |

Japanese Record Industry Seeks "iPod Tax"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 11, 2005 - 7:00am.
New York - Record companies in Japan are lobbying the government to impose an added fee on the sale of iPods and other digital music players sold in the country, with the proceeds compensating labels, songwriters and artists to compensate for lost revenue from piracy, The New York Times reported. The companies hope for a fee of between 2 and 5% of the retail price of the devices, but consumer groups and the Japanese media have pressured lawmakers to the point that the proposal remains stalled in a government committee. "This is typical of how industry groups try to manipulate government at the expense of consumers," Hiroko Mizuhara, head of the Consumers Union of Japan, told The Times. Japan already imposes a 2% fee on sales of minidisc recorders, while similar digital media levees have been floated in Canada. "Now everyone who used to be using CDs and MDs are using iPods," Koichi Numamura, head of the recording rights department at the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, told The Times. "We can't just sit by silently while we lose money."
tags: iPod Tax | Japanese Record Industry |

Canada's Supreme Court Upholds Ban on "iPod Tax"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 29, 2005 - 7:07am.
Toronto -- The Canadian Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal of a ruling that set aside a tax on iPods and other digital music players, which would have set aside funds to offset any potential losses to copyright infringement posed by the devices. Canada also charges a tax on blank CDs, which provides rights holders with about 2.8 cents per "lost sale" due to potential music CD copying. The ruling was praised by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), which believes it clarifies that unauthorized file-sharing is an illegal activity in Canada. An earlier decision, which many viewed as legitimizing unfettered file-sharing in Canada, referred to the iPod tax as just compensation for any losses from file-sharing. "For years, those supporting unauthorized file sharing have misleadingly used the existence of the Private Copying Levy to justify illegitimate file sharing," said CRIA president Graham Henderson. "Today, the Supreme Court says 'no such luck.'"
tags: Law | Canada | iPod Tax | Supreme Court | Upholds Ban |

Wisconsin Gov. Proposes "iPod Tax" for Online Digital Music Sales

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 11, 2005 - 3:51am.
San Francisco -- Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has proposed that the state begin collecting taxes on digital music and other content sold online, an idea that Republican lawmakers in the state have said they will block, CNET News.com reported. Already in South Dakota and Utah, consumers who do not voluntarily pay a couple extra cents in "use tax" above the $0.99 cost of a digital music download are technically breaking the law. Such laws usually only require online retailers like Apple to collect the tax if they have a physical presence in the state of purchase. In practice, neither South Dakota nor Utah pursue individuals for evading their use taxes. "It's an issue of tax equity...If you go into a Main Street business and purchase a CD, you are paying tax," Wisconsin Department of Revenue spokeswoman Jessica Iverson told News.com. "Even if it does pass, it's unlikely that there would be much compliance," Wisconsin state Rep. Scott Jensen, who is working to defeat the proposal, told News.com.
tags: Internet | iPod Tax | Wisconsin Gov | Online Digital Music Sales |