CDR: Re: Germans to tax PCs for Lars

Jim Burnes jburnes at savvis.net
Thu Sep 7 09:13:22 PDT 2000


On Thu, 07 Sep 2000, Tom Vogt wrote:
> Tim May wrote:
> >
> > Governments like this sort of thing, however. Tax everyone, then
> > spend the revenues as they wish.
>
> not quite right. it is NOT the government that collects, and this is not
> a tax. there's a "non-profit" organisation called GEMA that collects and
> re-distributes these things.
>
> the system has been the subject of criticism often, but works
> surprisingly well. that might be because the article doesn't mention the
> OTHER side of it. for example, paying a fixed sum to GEMA enables you to
> play music in public (say, as a shop owner in your shop) without having
> to deal with the individual artists and labels for "broadcasting
> rights". it greatly simplifies things for small shops.

Thats no diffferent than BMI or ASCAP here in the states.  The
only difference is that here that is a completely private transaction.
No government involvement or interference necessary or desired.

Having the government make it a tax is a little too much like
fascism.  Correction, its exactly like fascism.

Now that the US Federal government wouldn't try it. 

jim

-- 
Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of
himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we
found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this
question.	-- Thomas Jefferson, 1st Inaugural






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