April 07, 2008

By By Aymeric Pichevin, Paris

Music-enabled mobile phones will be taxed in France starting May 1 under the private copying regime.

Mobile phones featuring audio and/or video functionalities with a memory of more than 128 MB, will be hit with the tax.

Government officials reported said the tax on multimedia phones would range from ?5 ($7.8) to ?50 ($78).

The decision has been discussed between electronic device manufacturers, consumers organizations and right holders gathered in the Commission d'Albis, under the umbrella of the government.

The taxation of mobile phones has been under discussion since last September and had unsurprisingly raised some controversy, with several manufacturers questioning the very existence of private copying.

In February, the device manufacturers left the negotiation table, which stalled but could not impede the vote on the new taxation.

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