Belgium extends copy tax

From February 1st, more kinds of data carriers will be submitted to a copy tax. The tax is extended to, amongst others, hard disks, mp3 players, flash cards and set-top boxes.

The fees that consumers will be charged can be substantial, reports tweakers. When one buys an iPod with 64 Gs of memory, 3 euro will be charged extra. A set-top box of 500 GB will be taxed 10,75 euro. And a one TB hard disk will come with a fee of 9 euro.

The scheme does not only make a distinction in size, but also in the kind of use. A flash memory card with 16 Gs of memory will come with a fee of 1,35 euro, while an mp3 player with the same storage capacity will be taxed 3 euro.

The measure, imposed by the Belgian Federal minister of Economic Affairs Van Quickenborne, has been introduced rather quietly. Consumer organisation Tik is disappointed. The organisation fears consumers will draw the short straw here, while there is doubt that the proceeds will end up with the artists for whom it’s meant. Furthermore, says Tik, the tax may backfire as it could be perceived as an incentive to downloading. After all, you’ve already paid. Finally, Tik fears it may disadvantage people who buy their media legally. These have to pay twice.

Tik would have welcomed the chance to be involved in the decision making. While it’s too late for that, the organisation hopes to be invited, together with other interest groups, to discuss the new measure with the minister.