🚀 go-pugleaf

This might be old news, but here's part of an e-mail that I got on the
subject a while ago:

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There will be a $1.50 tax on all blank cassettes (roughly 3 times as much
as
a blank cassette can be purchased in bulk), and a similar tax on blank
CD-Rs. The money from this tax would kill the chances of artists starting
out in the industry from releasing independant product, and the proceeds of
the tax are earmarked for the bank accounts of Bryan Adams and Celine Dion
who allegedly lose millions of dollars due to "home taping" of their
albums.

This law was first mentioned in 1995 and has been tabled by Sheila Copps.
It will be finalized August 11th 1998 "if nobody complains about it", and
will go into effect on January 1st 1999. If you think this law is as
backward as I do, I urge you to write your MP, your MLA, your premier's
office, Shelia Copps, and the office of the prime minister. If anyone has
any information about this law or any protest web-pages in the works please
email me at kands@intergate.bc.ca and please help spread word of this. I
have searched newswires and cannot find the press release, and the webpage
of my local TV station lists every story of the day except that one, an
indication that this law is ment to be implimented silently. Ironically,
silence is what will result if the price of blank media is jacked up. Many
buskers and starving musicians will be collecting more welfare and
comitting
more crimes if this law happens, so it is very important to the quality of
canadian living that this does not occur. All small and mid-sized tape
duplication companies will be hurting and most would go out of business.
Small and mid-sized tape duplication companies are responsible for
contracts
from independant musicians but also handle books on tape, self-help tapes,
and religious material whereas large manufacturing plants deal exclusively
with large pop music orders from major entertainment conglomorates, many of
which no longer even use the cassette format for their releases. OK here's
the full scoop. The bill in question is C-32, it has been passed and is now
a LAW. It is open for objection until AUGUST 12th. If you would like to
register your objection, file it to: Claude Majeau, Secretary to the
Copyright Board 56 Sparks Street, Suite 800 Ottawa, Ontario K1A OC9 phone:
613-952-8621 fax: 613-952-8630 I recommend faxing, as it is simple, fast
and
effective. The exact details of the TAX are as follows: 25cents per every
15mins of analog recording time 50cents per every 15mins of digital
recording time. The following list shows how prices would be effected at a
major western canadian bulk media supplier:

[current price] plus [new tax] = [new cost] (percent increase)

C92 cassette:  .53 + 1.75 = 2.28 (330%)
C62 cassette:  .51 + 1.25 = 1.76 (245%)
124min DAT:    9.55 + 4.50 = 14.05 (47%)
74min CD-R:    1.49 + 2.50 = 3.99 (169%)

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Comments, corrections, and suggestions welcome.

Best regards,

Nick
--
Nick Velharticky
velhart@lisco.com