EU threatens vendors with smartphone tax
Quick, play dumb
Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery
The European Commission has proposed reclassifying smartphones as "multi-function devices", which would see them attracting up to 14 per cent in tax at a time when the industry is already under pressure to cut prices.
The proposed reclassification, which was sent out to member states last week for comment and is reported by Reuters, would add 3.7 per cent to the cost of a phone with satellite navigation, and 14 per cent to one capable of receiving TV pictures - enough to seriously threaten the mobile TV business which is already tottering on the edge of viability.
The EU doesn't collect taxes directly, and this reclassification is aimed at unifying taxes across the zone: Germany and the Netherlands have said they are already considering such a tax, so the EU just wants to see a level playing field - by lifting it everywhere. The smartphone business is already bracing for hard times ahead. Smartphones are still considered a luxury by most people, and the last thing the industry needs is more taxation.
As Nokia put it: "There is a danger that this proposal would put the latest technology out of the reach of European consumers as it would simply push up the price of sophisticated mobile phones. This is in nobody's interest."
The company went on to point out that only a small proportion of handsets would attract the tax today, that will increase rapidly as new models come out.
This is, for the moment, only a proposal. Member states will have to spend at least the next six months discussing it before any new taxation is introduced, but even the threat of higher taxes is hurting manufacturers in their share price as investors start to worry about the impact such a tax could have.®
Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery
COMMENTS
so?
Ship the phone without the software (=dumb) and make the software available on a non-EU website with a big disclaimer saying " not for EU" or "EU residents must declare this download and pay smartphone/dumbuser tax".
Tax law is interesting
Interesting thing tax law.
The government will of course bow to the EU. And break the law in doing so.
See, under UK law (that EVERYONE IS SUBJECT TO, including the government) you can't do this. In fact, there are many taxes that are collected illegally in this country.
The law states that you may only collect enough taxes to govern the country, I.e. you charge even the populace for the costs you incur. Anything else is stealing. You can avoid the stealing charge if you collect taxes in advance then don't use them and as such pay them back.
But as I said, the UK government is not averse to breaking the law (you may remember that signing the lisbon treaty was an act of treason which is still illegal in this country) so we'll see this tax enacted without protest. Certainly any protest from the populace they represent will go ignored.
-- Richard
Is there a future for mobile PHONEs?
I have no interest in a mobile phone that is anything other than a mobile PHONE.
If this tax means that phones continue to be manufactured, then I am all for it.
On the other hand, hidden taxes do no one any good and I can see no benefit in all EU countries having to add taxes to modern equipment that is seen by many to be a security and safety feature in their lives.
Is this just another dumb tax to add to CD taxes, computer taxes, ...... ?
IT infrastructure monitoring strategies
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Steps to Take Before Choosing a Business Continuity Partner
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
Data control in the cloud
