The Conservatives are airing an attack ad that accuses the opposition parties of planning to introduce a $75 "iPod tax" that would apply to smartphones, PVRs, MP3 players and "just about anything with a hard drive."
But is the ad just partisan background noise to the ongoing election campaign, or is there some truth to the dire-sounding warning?
That depends on who you talk to.
The ad goes back to a House of Commons Heritage Committee report. The report recommended expanding the definition of "audio recording medium" to include devices with internal memory "so that the levy on copying music will apply to digital music recorders as well."
The intention was that the current levy on items such as blank CDs and tapes, which helps compensate artists for revenue lost to illegal copying, would be extended to iPods and MP3 players.
The opposition parties supported the report in a vote last April, the Conservatives did not. It passed 155-137.
But the report didn't include any numbers. It was simply recommending the expansion of the definition of what can be taxed as an audio-recording medium.
Former musician and New Democrat MP Charlie Angus, who introduced his own private member's bill on the issue around the same time (Bill C-499), said he believes the levy on a $250 iPod should be more like $5 -- a fee no one would notice, let alone complain about, he suggested.
Angus has also maintained that the industry minister, the portfolio currently held by Tony Clement, has the power to determine which devices are subject to the levy and could easily exclude BlackBerries, PVRs and the like.
Angus has said the intent of his bill is to apply a small levy to iPods and other MP3 players, and that smart phones and other devices wouldn't be included.
The current copyright levy, which applies the tax to CDs, DVDs and tapes, was introduced in 1997 and is overdue for an update, Angus said in a release.
"By updating it, we will ensure that artists are getting paid for their work, and that consumers aren't criminalized for moving their legally obtained music from one format to another," he said.
Following their vote in favour of the Heritage Committee recommendation, the Liberals have since denied any plans to bring in a $75 tax, or any iPod levy whatsoever.
Marc Garneau, the Liberals' industry, science and technology critic, said in a release that an iPod levy is "not sustainable in a world of changing technology, and is unpopular with consumers."
Copyright expert and University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist said the Liberals have been somewhat inconsistent in their actions. After all, they did vote in favour of extending the current levy to digital music recorders.
But he said the Conservative attack ad borders on fantasy, noting that the $75 figure referenced in the ad came from a failed 2007 plan from the Copyright Board of Canada and has no connection to the Liberals.
At that time the board wanted to put a $75 levy on any music players with a hard drive larger than 30GB. Retailers came out strong against the plan, saying such a dramatic price increase would kill sales. As a result it went nowhere.
While the Bloc and NDP both still want a levy, they're not pushing for such a high amount, and the Liberals say they want no levy at all.
The irony in all of this, Geist said, is that Bill C-32, an act which would have amended the copyright act and which was introduced by Industry Minister Tony Clement, would have doubled the current levy.
The bill died when the election was called and will have to be reintroduced in the next session of Parliament.
