New Internet tax would affect legal music downloads
A proposed Internet tax put forward by Sacramento, California Assemblyman Charles Calderon would cover music downloads from the likes of iTunes and other music-download websites, as well as pornography downloads, a report has revealed.
The move would raise the price of downloads from iTunes to help cover the state government’s $8 billion shortfall. Apparently we should all be taxed for music downloads, videos and and so on.
As expected, users of iTunes and other download sites are strongly against the idea, citing that the $0.99 iTunes charges now is already enough. With filesharing being outlawed, it makes little sense for the government to go out of its way to turn people away from legitimate sources of legal music downloads.
The tax wouldn’t directly affect music downloads, but rather, it would update a 75-year-old law that allows sales-tax collections on tangible personal property, which at the moment doesn’t include music downloads.
Music downloads on iTunes would shoot up to about $1.08.
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Franca Richard 09Apr08
I think internet should be treated equal as the real society, so tax is unavoidable,
Sachin 09Apr08
the right to copy a song from an online store demands the same sort of levy applied to copying a retail CD, SOCAN argues. The tax may have a significant impact for online stores such as iTunes and Canada-based Puretracks, which will have to factor the amount both into future and past sales
Free Music Download Websites 15Apr08
Yea, I can see how it could affect them. Many people don’t like spending itunes 99 cents per track already…imagine having to spend more. This tax is deffinetaly an incentive for people to use P2P.