Taxing Hard Drives, Sparing the Net
Namibia’s draft copyright and related rights protection bill proposes a major change in how local artists are compensated.
Namibia’s draft copyright and related rights protection bill proposes a major change in how local artists are compensated.
The government wants to create a safety net for creators by introducing a levy on physical equipment and services used to copy data, including phones, laptops, memory sticks and copy shops.
This is the stage at which the public needs to engage. Once the bill reaches the parliament, opportunities to correct its shortcomings become far more limited.
Supporting underfunded artists is a worthwhile objective, but the draft has a significant blind spot. It builds an extensive system to tax physical hardware while giving online platforms and streaming services – where music is now primarily stored and shared – a free legal pass.
An office worker buying a USB drive for documents could end up paying more to support the creative sector, while music continues to circulate freely on platforms such as WhatsApp.
