News
Spain set to impose tax on iPod, iPhone
Spain is set to impose a “digital canon” anti-piracy tax on all electronic devices capable of recording, copying, or storing sound and images, beginning July 1. The tax would add €3.15 (around $4.90) to the price of an MP3 player such as an iPod, and also provides for a €1.10 (around $1.70) tax on all mobile phones with integrated MP3 music capabilities, such as the iPhone. Pedro Farré, authors’ rights director for author and publisher group SGAE, said, “we are satisfied that this ministerial order has been approved after so much delay, and we now hope the manufacturers will pay the canon. Technically, the manufacturers pay the canon - whether they pass the cost on to the public is their decision.”
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1
So does this mean that people in Spain are then free to pirate as much content as they want onto their devices once they’ve paid the tax? If not, what’s the point? Why should honest people who always pay for their music be forced to pay this tax?
Forget being innocent until proven guilty, this is being found guilty with no recourse whatsoever to prove your innocence.
Posted by Dyvim on June 25, 2008 at 11:09 AM (PST)
2
i would gladly pay $5 more on music players if it went to a “Shut Down the RIAA” fund….
Posted by Toxic Boy on June 25, 2008 at 11:31 AM (PST)
3
Well, in spain we have to pay piracy-tax for every digital sotrage system, CD, DVD, HDD and now also for every digital audio/video player. It doen’t mean that we can piracy as much as we want, is just a tax and if we use the storage system to save our photos, our documents or everything without copyright we have to pay also the tax, if we download legal or ilegal music from internet we have to pay. We are paying always, and we can’t do anything more. PAY PAY PAY….
Posted by Shurup on June 26, 2008 at 1:46 AM (PST)
4
Is this legal now you guys are part of the EU?
Posted by Legoman182182 on June 26, 2008 at 7:51 AM (PST)
5
Legal, smegal…what power does the EU still have, now that Ireland has rejected the Lisbon Treaty’s idea of central control and the dissolving of local governmental power?
Posted by flatline response on June 29, 2008 at 4:52 AM (PST)