Canadians May Face 25% Download Tariff

C-Yo writes "While Canadians have battled against an iPod tariff for more than a year, now comes news that Canada's copyright collectives are seeking a tariff on iTunes as well. Professor Michael Geist (who last week dismantled music industry claims about peer-to-peer) reports that one collective is demanding an incredible 25% of the gross revenue of music download services as well as 15% of webcasters' gross revenue and 10% of gamers gross revenue (free version of report or Toronto Star reg. version). When combined with other tariff proposals, it would appear that Canada's collectives want to the kill the download industry, demanding at least 40% of everything iTunes, Napster, and other new services earn."

Comments

As a B.C. Canuck

[JohnnyGTO]

born and bread all I can say is AAAAHHHHahhahhhaaahha Socialism you gotta love it. Thank good I live in Arizona.

Re:As a B.C. Canuck

[JohnnyGTO]

You know I watched the farm families in the Okanogan Vally literally starve because the assholes from the east forced them to try and compete against The US and Mexico. They could not and still can't do anything but farm their land. Why bother when we end up getting BILLED by the fucking packing houses? We fixed you and your oooooh we need the farm land or we'll starve, we plowed all the fruit trees under and let it go wild. Produces NOTHING not even tax revenue! There SO MUCH that is wrong with the way people are treated up there, of course in you vote NDP or the like and live in city what the fuck do you know.

Oh Canada!

[AstroDrabb]

Wow! What is wrong with these Socialists? How in the world can they say to themselves, "OK, our citizens are LEGALLY paying for music, however, they are all theives, so we might as well tack on another 25%!".

I'd bet not

[Malicious]

For those who don't keep track, Canada is currently (however not necessarily for much longer) ruled by a Minority government. Chances of any bill that smells even vaguely of Controversy is slim to nil. Now if the Conservative party should take control, it's time to move to a country where freedom is free. Like Quebec.

Re:France has something similar...

[Vaevictis666]

Yes, Canada has this blank media surcharge as well. As well as applying to media such as CDs and DVDs, it also applies to some appliances, like standalone MP3 players (and it's a huge amount for iPods)

Drinkin' the koolaid

[Mr. Underbridge]

We pay a reasonable tariff on blank media that has the ability to play back content protected by copyright. This is to compensate the artists for any violations of copyright due to selling blank media. It works out pretty well. Its Socialist in that we're trying to be fair to everyone.

A reasonable tariff is zero. By your logic, they should go ahead and put me in prison for owning a gun "capable" of killing someone. Why does your country accept this idea of punishing everyone evenly for possible illegal use of something that is generally used for legal things? How come copiers aren't taxed? And who gets that tariff money?

Re:Drinkin' the koolaid

[renehollan]

Not all Canadians subscribe to such lunacy.

After the Canadian government taxed my father to death (literally: they taxed his income so much, to pay for, among other things, "universal" health care, that when he needed surgery to save his life he found that (a) the government didn't provide the surgery to him, (b) it was illegal for a citizen to purchase it in Canada, and (c) he was so impoverished from a life of high taxes that he didn't have the means to purchase it in the U.S.A.), I strove to escape with my family. The green card is in the works.

Canada is run by a bunch of murderous bastards, who'd carve out your liver and kidneys to save their cronies, leaving you to die, and call it "fair" because two lives were saved for one lost.

A sickening proportion of the population goes along with this, hoping to be on the receiving rather than the giving end of such "fairness" at some point. I consider them accessories to murder.

Re:Drinkin' the koolaid

[JohnnyCannuk]

Then leave. But shut the fuck up with your "taxed to death" fud. My dad is alive today becasue of universal health care. I we had hadthe US style healthcare you and the Conservatives seem to love, he would not have been able to afford going to the hospital and would have died in our kitchen, refusing to go to the hospital because he couldn;t afford the bill. I pay my taxes with a smile on my face for that reason alone.

Re:Drinkin' the koolaid

[renehollan]

I we had hadthe US style healthcare you and the Conservatives seem to love, he would not have been able to afford going to the hospital and would have died in our kitchen, refusing to go to the hospital because he couldn;t afford the bill

Yes, it is easier to live when you steal from others.

Know this: there are people who see the murderous lie that is "Canadian Healthcare", which doesn't even permit citizens to spend their own savings, after paing the tax burden, to save their own lives. Their numbers are growing, and they view people like you as murderers.

Canada is the only country in the world where it is illegal for a citizen to pay for a medical service that the government "promises", regardless of whether it is actually delivered. Even countries generally considered more socialist have realised the folly of this: long lines for everyone, and critically ill people dying like flies.

When enough have awakened to see the fraud perpetuated upon them, I expect things to get very ugly.

Re:Drinkin' the koolaid

[Scudsucker]

I hope you get your US citizenship because I for one am glad you are gone.

Can you take guys like retired Senator Phil Grahm in exchange? He's one of those right wing asshats who bitches about "big government" despite getting over $3 million dollars from the taxpayers over the course of his life. Not to mention being a hyocrite about spending, even boasting that he was "carrying so much pork I've got trichinosis".

Score 5, offtopic, but anti-American

[JohnTheFisherman]

WTF does this have to do with the article? Oh, nothing, but it criticizes the US, so mod it up to +5.

i am canadian

[Scotty6969]

omfg seriosly this is bull shit all these laws canadians "may" face they never happen , this fuck asshole micheal geist or w/e the fuck his name is , is a fucking asshole who tries to think hes smart and shit by making up all this bull shit and then ppl read this bs and think canada is stupid and shit and omfg im gonna stop cause this is tooooo fuckin retarded basically don't beleive any of this bull shit and find something better to do for fucks sake u fagits! p.s Canada Rules 2Dads

Re:It isn't just downloads....

[Brushfireb]

This is silly.

Generally speaking, land that is great for farming isnt great for mining. Most farmers also lack the resources, knowledge, experience, and ability to convert their acreage into a mining outfit.

Secondly, most mining operations do not expect to operate for "a few years". The equipment, training, safety, legal, regulatory, and maintenance costs only amortize well over long term periods. This is why you see mining companies buy large chunks of land, and slowly chip away at them carefully, as to not waste.

The timber industry is interesting, and you are generally correct about it. This is why there was such a push for regulation years ago. However, comparing the timber industry to any other industry doesnt really work to well. Lets not compare apples to oranges.

The average fishery also does not operate with the mentality that you speak about. You describe that a return for a one year binge would be greater than a 20 year steady run. The likelyhood that they could capture THAT much value within one year seems unlikely to me. This is why perpetuities generally have more value than comparable annuities. Think about it. $10 forever is worth quite a bit more than $100 once. The market understands this and compensates for it.