04/08/2002 Entry: "Levies R Us"

Some of you may not be aware of this fact, but in Canada (I won't speak for the rest of the world.) we pay a tax for every cassette tape, CD-R or CD-RW that we purchase. It is now on the drawing board that these taxes be increased and several new ones to include DVD-R, micro hard drives, flash memory and so on. The taxes that are placed on these items are collected by an entity known as the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC).

There's a website where you can get additional information and sign an e-petition here.

Now, I'm all for artists and the companies they're associated with being reimbursed for their efforts, but I don't like how they're taxing everyone to pay for those who burn their copies of music. So, I am submitting a letter to Sheila Copps in hopes that it will be read. Follow the link below to read it. I urge anyone who objects to these levies to write to Sheila Copps to help her re-evaluate this system of taxation. By all means, sign the e-petition, but a written letter tends to get more attention!

Sheila Copps
Minister of Canadian Heritage
Room 511-S
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

To Sheila Copps;

It has come to my attention that the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) to increase and create new levies for various types of digital media. After reviewing said levies, I find myself outraged at what is planned for taxes on digital media in the coming years.

I will not debate the fact that certain media can be used to make illegitimate copies of music, broadcasts, and the like. There is little doubt in my mind that this does happen and will continue to happen. My concern is the way in which companies which suffer losses from such copying are trying to recoup some of their lost revenue.

A tax on certain types of media can indeed help compensate companies that have lost sales due to copying; however those taxes also serve to punish businesses and consumers alike that have played no part in the illegitimate use of flash memory, or other digital media. Many companies and consumers use these forms of media to perform back-ups, transport files, save pictures or home videos. The list is endless. Am I to understand that these people are being penalized because others choose to exploit that media? What has a business done in using DVD-Rs to do promotional videos that it needs to be taxed for each disc it uses? The money from these taxes is given to artists through the CPCC, who have given no service to the company that has given them the money.

I do understand that there are procedures in place, at least for certain types of media, for specific types of companies to purchase or be reimbursed for the taxes after it goes through certain methods and only purchases through certain channels. These procedures are an added operating cost to any business where makes it that much more difficult to survive in this current economic climate. A business would have to set aside resources to ensure that it is getting reimbursed for any purchases, having to reclaim money that they could very well use in the present. A business would have to be limited to purchasing it’s media from specific distribution channels where they may not be able to enjoy certain discounts either through corporate affiliations, or by another distributor’s wholesale pricing.

Even a typical consumer will suffer from the taxing of digital media. A consumer might use flash memory for a digital camera, or to augment the storage capacity of their PDA. I have no doubt in my mind that a grand majority of removable flash memory and micro hard drives are used for such a purpose. Artists will benefit from a consumer like this purchasing digital media, where the artist has provided no service them.

This raises another concern; that the companies and artists which are lobbying for these taxes will have a form of revenue that isn’t completely tied to the services they provide. They will be drawing profits from people who purchase a micro hard drive for their PDA, or from a company that buys thousands of DVD-Rs to transport files. They will be making money in a way that has no relation to their product and I find that apprehensible and unethical.

I don’t agree with the claim by the CPCC that they are losing money from people using digital media to make illegal copies of music. I don’t disagree with the idea of compensating artists and companies for their lost revenue, but I disagree with the manner in which they intend on reclaiming these lost profits. I feel that this method of taxing digital media punishes the innocent to get at those who abuse it. I do not feel that it is in the spirit of this country to punish everyone for the actions of a few. Canada has always meant to me a country where the masses are protected through laws and by our government from those few who abuse it. This tax gives me the impression that everyone is seen as guilty and is to be punished for questionable acts until they have proven otherwise.

There must be another way to compensate these artists and companies for their hard work. They dedicate their time and talent to provide a wonderful service to this country, and I would feel very gratified to seem them properly compensated, but not at the expense of the public. It will only further separate the rift between these artists and the consumer.

So I am asking you to please reconsider the new levies that have been proposed by the CPCC. There is no reason to punish all Canadians for the acts of only certain citizens within. My primary concern is the taxes to be placed on removable flash media and micro hard drives. As part of a community of PDA users, I find that numerous people buy this form of digital media and would suffer from these added costs. The levies on CD-Rs, and non-removable flash memory or micro hard drives that are already embedded into mp3 players I have little quarrel with, as I am well aware that a vast quantity of CD-Rs are used for the express purpose of copying music, and any storage medium already integrated into an MP3 player can only serve one purpose. But for digital media such as removable flash memory (Compact Flash, SD, MMC and the like) or micro hard drives, or even DVD-Rs, their usage as a medium for storing music is in such a minority that I feel that a sufficient number of consumers would suffer while those of the CPCC would profit from something of which they have very little part of.

Sincerely,

Hoo-Chuan Tan

Replies: 2 comments

Here is the letter I sent the goverment via the www.ccfda.ca site --------------------------- Sheila, I am writing you and tell you that I feel the current levy system on, among other media, cd-rom's is not fair. I understand the need for protection of copyright holder's rights, but taxing (yes, a levy is a form of tax, I know governments don't view it that way, but it is a tax - ask the New Englanders of the 1700's....) me for a use that I do not put the CD's to, is totally unfair to me. To put it another way, someone may speed, so we will tax their gas purchase with a speeding levy to compensate those who may be injured due to speeders. My god, don't you dare use that. Why would I even use that as a comparison, even though it is valid. And to allow this levy to be extended in scope and rate is beyond comprehension. Please, do all Canadians a service and recind this levy and replace it with something that is fair to all. I understand that while many dollars have been collected to date (perhaps you can tell me how many dollars....?) not a single penny has been distributed, nor a system for it devised by the industry represetative group that lobbied for the levy in the first place. The money must just be going to further their cause and lobby for the new increase in amount and scope of the levy. Wonderful system. Thank you for your time and consideration,

Posted by Rick @ 01/03/2003 06:16 PM EST

I presently use record-once and rewritable media in the form of CD-R and CD-RW discs, as well as DVD+R and DVD+RW discs to make a backup of my hard drive on a regular basis. I use the same media to backup LEGITIMATE SOFTWARE THAT I OWN..!! I also use it to backup DATA FILES ONLY, and all of that data I have legal title to since *I* CREATED IT. A recording industry levy is nothing less than a cash grab for greedy corporations who only want to beef up their bottom line on the backs of people who don't even use the affected recording media for any commercial music recordings, nevermind anything pirated.

Posted by David A. Piper @ 12/29/2002 02:08 AM EST