Cabinet ditches digital canon on blank media, passing cost on to all taxpayers

More than a year after Congress repealed the so-called “digital canon,” the Cabinet on Friday agreed to begin paying taxes on blank media such as DVDs, CDs, pen drives and camera phones through a budget allotment.

Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría told reporters following the Friday Cabinet meeting that the Education, Culture and Sports Ministry has been charged with determining each year how much should be allotted to cover the excise tax, which was introduced to compensate artists who saw their royalties shrink due to the ease of online file sharing and downloads.

In 2011, Congress repealed the law, which had been severely criticized by the European Union Court of Justice, who said it was not in line with EU legislation.

By paying the tax through budget allotments, Sáenz de Santamaría said the costs would be shared by everyone. She explained that each quarter the ministry would gather sales information on media material that fell under the old digital canon law. The money from this year will be paid during the first quarter of 2013, she said.

It is estimated that the amount will be more than five million euros, which had already been included in the 2013 budget presented in September.

“The decree establishes some technical guidelines to determine who will benefit, how much will be compensated, and what percentages will be placed on audio-visual material, books and discs,” she said.