The private copying tax could soon inflate the prices of new and refurbished computers. This is the wish of the music industry which has just obtained the green light to study the question.
At a time not so long ago, it happened toextract audio files from music CD to keep them on our computer or our mp3 player. To have the right by default, electronic devices such as USB flash drivesTHE external hard drives or more recently the smartphones and tablets integrate a private copying tax. For example, She adds €14 to the price of a new mobile and allows you to copy songs from a CD onto it.
This fee could soon extend to desktop and laptop computers. According to information from l’Informed, reported by BFMTV, representatives of the music industry won their case with the commission for private copying. Not to introduce the tax, but initially to study the habits of the French regarding copying music on a computer. The investigation will be carried out during the year 2024 and could therefore result in a increase in PC prices.
A tax on private copying could soon increase the price of computers
If there is a tax on private copying, it will also affect new and used computers sold in France. Please note that reconditioned smartphones are no longer subject to this fee. In its calculation, the private copy commission could take into account the music files sent to Cloud services, Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox or other. One way to respond to a criticism often made about the fee: it is based on old methodology and studies, sometimes 10 years old.
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In the report of theGeneral Inspectorate of Finance and theGeneral Inspectorate of Cultural Affairs on the subject, the question of streaming audio is also discussed. As the platform offers allow you to download tracksthis should logically be taken into account to propose a new method of calculating the tax on private copying. Each year, it reports on average 300 million euros to rights holders.