French politicians want to tax tablets for not running Windows

[Nathan Bahn]

On Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 1:07 AM, Basil Chupin <blchupin at iinet.net.au> wrote:

>  *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
>



Attention all--

I can't help but get the impression that French legislators and M$ lobbyists
are joined at the hip.  I could be wrong, of course.....

--N.B.
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