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Canadian copyright group pushes for levy on memory cards
As even non-Canadians may recall, there was a big issue in the country a few years back over a so-called "iPod tax" (something that cropped up again in the recent election) and, while it still hasn't come to pass, the Canadian Private Copying Collective is now pushing for a music tax of another sort. While there's no iPods in danger of being taxed this time, the CPCC is asking for a new levy to be placed on memory cards (presumably all types, although that hasn't been specified). That levy would vary depending on the capacity of the card, with those less than 1GB facing a $0.50 tax, while cards between 1GB and 8GB would have an additional dollar tacked on, and those over 8GB would cost a full $3 more. Needless to say, that would be a fairly sizable percentage of the price in most cases given the way memory card prices are dropping -- and it would cast a fairly broad brush, as those memory cards obviously aren't just used for music. Of course, it is also still just a proposal but, as the Excess Copyright blog notes, the peculiarities of the Canadian Copyright Board may well give the CPCC a leg up in this case. Head on past the break for its official announcement.
CPCC wants to tax your iPod
Bad news for our buddies up north: Canada's Private Copyright Collective (CPCC) is hoping to tax consumers who purchase portable MP3 players, planning to compensate musicians for money lost due to copyright infringement and music copying. The Canadian federal court turned down the previous lobbying attempt made by the CPCC last year, because their law did not recognize portable players' hard drives and memory storage among its list of recording media. However, this hasn't stopped the CPCC from trying again, with a new proposal that suggests taxes on MP3 players in the amounts of $5CAD for players with up to 1GB of storage, $25CAD for players up to 10GB, $50CAD for players holding 10GB-30GB, and $75CAD for any player holding more than 30GB. Steep. In addition to MP3 players, the CPCC hopes to include memory cards (SD, MMC, Memory Sticks, etc.) to the list of taxable items. (Insert eye rolling here.)(via MacNN)
