Dear
Subscriber,
Italy
extended
its 'blank media' tax
this week to take in delivery
mechanisms such as PCs as
well as CDs and tapes. It
is not alone in levying such
a tax: Canada and France have
similar systems. Indeed France
is going to add a
direct tax on on-line advertising
revenue with the same
underlying purpose, to support
the providers of content.
It is a worrying development
that governments or unelected
quangos get to decide whom
to reward for their content.
No
problem with the principle
that people who enjoy free
content (mobile phones, downloads
etc) should somehow reward
the originators. The problem
is that the collection and
delivery mechanisms are obscure.
In most cases a semi-private
body ('collection society')
gets the money and dishes
it out to its own choice of
providers.
But
how can the Italian collection
society, for example, reward
an Argentinian composer who
has a hit in Rome? And who
supervises the collection
societies?
Something
has to change. One day, and
the sooner the better, there
will come a transparent, technology-based
charging and distribution
system which can be seen to
be fair by all concerned.
In its fight to digitize books
and make deals with their
publishers, Google is inching
in this direction.
The
problems of organizing U-Tube
and other open-access media
to operate fairly are something
else again. It will happen
though.
One
thing is sure: governments
should get out of the way.
They are constitutionally
incapable of distinguishing
between a 'tax' and a 'levy',
and will just complicate matters.
The market will develop better
solutions, given time, and
perhaps an international body
to hold the ring.
Ciao,
Kitty.
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Italian
Copying Fee Extended To PCs,
Mobile Phones And MP3s,
by
Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com,
Brussels
21/01/2010
Royalty
fees introduced in Italy to
compensate for the sound and
video copying of works subject
to copyright (and which were
previously only levied on
recordable products, such
as CDs, DVDs and USB sticks)
have now been extended to
include the means of recording,
such as computers, mobile
phones and MP3 players.
SPBA
Examines Future Of Private
Banking In Switzerland,
by
Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com,
Brussels
21/01/2010
President of the Swiss Private
Bankers Association, Konrad
Hummler, has recently unveiled
details of the association’s
strategy for the Swiss financial
center, as defined in its
general meeting held last
year.
US
Health Reform In Doubt After
Massachusetts Vote,
by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com,
Washington
21/01/2010
The
election of Republican Scott
Brown to the vacant Senate seat
in Massachusetts has dealt a
potentially fatal blow to President
Obama's legislative agenda,
particularly his aspiration
to provide near-universal healthcare
coverage for uninsured Americans.
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Equities
trading volumes on the
Nasdaq Dubai exchange,
which is soon to be taken
over by the Dubai Financial
Market, rose by 30% in
2009 to 3.10 billion shares,
up from 2.39 billion in
2008, the bourse has announced.
United
States Trade Representative,
Ron Kirk, has announced
that the US has requested
World Trade Organization
dispute settlement consultations
with the Philippines
regarding the latter’s
excise taxes on imported
distilled spirits, such
as whisky and gin.
The
Jersey Financial Services
Commission on January
14 published a consultation
paper on two new Orders
proposed to be made
under the Companies
(Jersey) Law 1991.
The
Australian government
has released the Australian
Financial Centre Forum's
report – also
known as the Johnson
Report – on promoting
Australia as a financial
services center, which
identifies taxation
as a key area of reform.
It
is understood that the
Obama administration,
leading Congressional
Democrats and union
representatives have
struck a deal that waters
down the Senate's proposal
to tax high-end 'Cadillac'
health plans, potentially
smoothing the path towards
final passage of the
historic healthcare
reforms. 
In
a situation where Singapore’s
government will probably
maintain its expansionary
stance in its 2010 budget,
various tax proposals
were discussed at a pre-budget
meeting of business leaders
organized by the Institute
of Certified Public Accountants
of Singapore.
A
bipartisan group of
lawmakers in the House
of Representatives intend
to introduce legislation
that would allow individuals
who make charitable
contributions to victims
of the earthquake in
Haiti to claim an itemized
charitable deduction
on their 2009 tax return.
The
Bahamas’ Minister
of Finance, Zhivargo
Laing, announced a number
of initiatives geared
towards the recovery
of the Bahamian economy
in an address at the
19th Annual Bahamas
Business Outlook forum.