I sent an official comment letter thingy to Ms Copps awhile back and got this form letter today. Basically it says 'It's not a tax, the government doesn't collect it and didn't set it and it's because you ppl steal too much!'


Dear Mr.ooooo:

On behalf of the Honourable Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian
Heritage, thank you for your correspondence regarding the levy on blank
audio recording media.

Ms. Copps appreciates your advising her of your views. Authors
(composers and lyricists), as well as producers of sound recordings
currently have the exclusive right to authorize the reproduction of their
creations. However, consumers have been making unauthorized copies of
sound recordings for close to three decades. As enforcement was
effectively impossible, these creators could not protect their rights and
collect the royalties due to them.

The levy on blank audio recording media is designed to permit
creators to be paid for private copying. Please note that it is a levy and
not a tax. The Government is not involved in the collection,
administration or distribution of the levy; these tasks are carried out by
the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC). Nor is the Government
responsible for setting levies on blank audio recording media; this is a
responsibility of the Copyright Board of Canada, an independent tribunal.

The Copyright Act defines audio recording medium as "a recording
medium, regardless of its material form, onto which a sound recording may
be reproduced and that is of a kind ordinarily used by individual consumers
for that purpose." The levy is placed on the medium itself regardless of
its use. CD-Rs and CD-RWs are subject to the levy as they qualify as audio
recording media.

According to the Act, any person who manufactures blank audio
recording medium in Canada or imports blank audio recording medium into
Canada for the purpose of trade has to pay a levy. However, the Act does
provide some exceptions to paying levies on blank audio recording medium.
The levy is not payable on blank audio recording medium that is exported
from Canada or sold or provided to associations, societies or corporations
representing individuals with perceptual disabilities.



.../2

- 2 -


Further details on the levy are available by contacting the CPCC.
Information on the Copyright Act, including decisions made by the Copyright
Board of Canada, can be obtained from the Board. The addresses of these
organizations are shown in the enclosure for your reference.

I trust that this information is useful. Please accept our best
wishes.


Yours sincerely,






Jess Dutton
Senior Policy Advisor


Enclosure

ANNEX


Copyright Board of Canada

800 - 56 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0C9

Telephone: (613) 952-8621
Facsimile: (613) 952-8630
Electronic mail: secretariat@cb-cda.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca


Canadian Private Copying Collective

403 - 150 Eglinton Avenue East
Toronto, Ontario
M4P 1E8

Telephone: (416) 486-6832
Facsimile: (416) 485-4373
Electronic mail: inquiries@cpcc.ca
Web site: http://www.cpcc.ca

The CPCC hearing are still on-going at the moment. With all the witnesses and testemony being presented it'll be interesting to see what the decide.

Ms. Copps obviously got one of her lackies to send out a generic reply... "hmmm levy complaint from a voter, proper response form located in drawer 4".

This levy goes way beyond fair compensation. The CPCC makes up the levy, forces it on all retailers, and then doles it out to the recording industry. They've been collecting it for 2 years now and I dont believe theyve distributed anything... you can bet none of the local independant artists will see a dime from it.

Agreed, there see something wrong with the government collecting a tax and passing it off to a corporations. I know they say it's not a tax and they're not collecting or enforcing it but shifting blame doesn't change it. It's still the government.

Also, enforcing levies that will make certain products too impractical is irresponsible and just plain wrong. If they go through with the tax on $20/gig on MP3 hd players that will effectively stop that product from being viable in Canada and open up a new black market, just like there was when cigarette taxes were insanely high and like there is now with satellite dishes.

On another not, I believe if you import discs for personal use you don't have to pay the levy, only if you import with the intent to sell.

I wouldn't have too much of a problem with the Levy if the money went to small independant artitsts. But it doesn't. If it goes anywhere, it will go to the big record producers and film makers that don't need more money.

In my opinion, since the levy has been implemented to pay artists for future piracy, then any blank media that I purchase can be used it for any purpose I see fit.

In other words, if I want to use the media for piracy, I've already paid the tax and the government has OK'd the media for that purpose.