A tax on both your houses
The UK music industry is pushing for a tax on music uploaded to portable devices like iPods, reports The Globe and Mail.
The so-called "iPod Tax" would tax users that port music from a personal computer to a portable music player, even if they purchased that music in CD form or on iTunes.
It is the brainchild of the Music Business Group (MBG), representing major record labels in the UK. Like all plans that aspire to punish consumers for evolving retail habits, the tax is positioned as a means to fairly compensate artists.
Currently, "ripping" songs from a CD to a personal computer is illegal in the United Kingdom. A bill to legalize the practice is on the table, but the MBG insists any such move must include the iPod tax.
Other countries, such as Canada and the Netherlands, have considered or implemented similar measures in the past. Most ultimately shafted the law or decided against it before implementation occurred.
