RSS feedsJapan has been forced to drop plans for a so-called iPod tax after massive opposition from the manufacturers of MP3 players.
Japanese authorities had hoped to impose a 1-3% levy on the price of portable digital players as a means to compensate music companies and artists for what is considered duplication of their products when music is transferred onto the devices.
Currently, DVD recorders and minidisk players are subject to a similar tax in Japan but so far MP3 players have avoided the charge following a failed first attempt to include them in 2005.
The plan was resurrected in May, but was subject to huge opposition from manufacturers who claimed they would be forced to absorb the costs rather than pass them on to customers, according to Tax News.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs has now admitted that there is ‘virtually no hope’ of getting the legislation passed at this point in time.
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