French politicians want to tax tablets for not running Windows

[Basil Chupin]

*THE GLORIOUS FRENCH REPUBLIC* seems set to kowtow to Microsoft and levy 
a tax on every tablet in the land that doesn't run the Windows operating 
system.

For a while now France has taxed MP3 players after surrendering to 
demands from the movie and film cartels that it make all of its citizens 
pay for those few who download media content.

Now the French politicians have worked out that they can get even more 
dosh if they extend the tax to include tablets. After all, most of them 
are just big phones and MP3 players, they think.

However since the legislation does not cover computers they have to 
define what it is that makes a computer different from the devices they 
want to tax.

According to the French magazine Numerama 
<http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.numerama.com/magazine/17691-taxe-copie-privee-sur-tablettes-archos-pourrait-attaquer-au-conseil-d-etat.html> 
they have decided that a device is only a computer when it runs 
Microsoft Windows. If it runs Linux or a Mac OS then it must be just an 
MP3 player that's being operated by someone who is a 'pirate' and 
therefore needs to be taxed.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1934443/french-politicians-tax-tablets-running-windows

-- 
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and
won't change the subject.
                          Sir Winston Churchill

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