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The Federal Court of Appeals has struck down a proposed fee that would assume every Canadian purchasing an iPod or other digital music player is an outlaw.
A proposed levy on digital storage devices, known as the "iPod tax," has been quashed by the Federal Court of Appeal after opponents argued it assumed illegal behaviour on the part of Canadian consumers.Following hearings on Jan.9, the court ruled that the Canadian Copyright Board did not have the right to impose new taxes on digital music players and storage devices. The taxes were to be introduced later this year.
The proposed levies included a $2 tax on 1 GB removable electronic memory cards, $5 tax on digital audio players no more than 1 GB and an extra $75 on digital audio players more than 30 GBs.
An extra $75 for an iPod? Outrageous. It is appalling that the Copyright Board would allow itself to be co-opted in an attempt by the industry to sponge off the success of a company that still believes in innovative product development.
Kudos to the Retail Council of Canada for leading the fight against this odious fee.
