Importers and manufacturers of taxable equipment must pay private copying levy under current Russian law. They don’t like it. They don’t understand why they must pay this levy if only customers make copies of content, only customers make harm to right holders, manufacturers only produce and importers only import equipment capable of copying.
But Russian legislators made like in Europe – natural persons can make copies only for their personal and non-commercial use. They pay this levy included in price of equipment capable of copying. But importers and manufacturers have new idea – why they, but not customers (natural persons, who make these copies), must pay private copying levy? Let’s make customers pay this levy. Importers and manufacturers believe that would be much fair.
“Taxpayers” proposed to impose relevant tax on customers, who buy equipment capable of copying and listed in relevant governmental decree. Current Russian law does not take into account the simple fact that levy must be paid from equipment acquired by natural persons for their personal purposes. Manufacturers and importers pay levy from all equipment, regardless of whether all equipment, produced or imported in Russia, will be exploited by natural persons for their personal purposes, or some units of such equipment will be exploited by professionals, who don’t pay private copying levy.
Due to imperfections of Russian law, regulating private copying levy, importers and manufacturers must pay money, which they must not to pay. All these companies are very rich and pay “extra levy” already seven years. Their lawyers still can’t find the right resolution. They pay dumbly and can’t do anything with this.
Some companies import equipment in order to sell it to other countries. If such equipment will be not exploited in Russia for the purposes of private copying, why such equipment must be imposed by private copying levy? Russian Union of Right holders – organisation accredited by state to collect private copying levy – would not give back extra paid levy. Why it should do this? Companies are very rich and do this during seven years; they can do it more ten years.