Will there be a smartphone tax? The government reveals a possible rate

The subject of the so -called Fees for clean media, also known as a reprographic fee. As Rzeczpospolita reminds, this fee should take into account the compensation for the use of works as part of the permitted personal use. This happens, for example, when the buyer of the CD copies its content on the so -called clean plate. The fee includes clean plates, as well as other media, allowing you to copy even legally acquired songs. However, it does not include modern forms of copying, e.g. through smartphones, tablets or TVs with recording function. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage wants to change this, emphasizing that the list of devices has not been updated for 17 years.

Smartphone tax? Will pay business

The Ministry of Culture announces a reform in terms of the reprographic fee system. As a result of changes, the creators are to receive up to PLN 150-200 million a year, which is more than four times more than today. The ministry emphasizes that the fee will not burden consumers, but a business that should treat it as an element of “social responsibility”. It is estimated that the costs will include nearly 260 companies – manufacturers and importers of devices.

The ministry suggests that the new fee rate for most modern devices be 1 percent. sales prices. It will apply to, among others smartphones with memory above 32 GB, tablets, computers, TVs with recording function, decoders, hard drives, portable players, memory cards or CD/DVD recorders. The fees are to apply to 19, not 65 items so far.

The calculations presented by the ministry show that at an average price of a smartphone of PLN 1,800, the fee would be PLN 18. The ministry points out that it is less than, for example, the monthly cost of popular streaming subscriptions. In some cases, the rate is to be reduced, this is to apply to, among others multifunctional devices (from 3 to 2 percent) or office paper A4 and A3 – from 1.25 to 0.75 percent.