Private copying tax: towards a change in the calculation for our mobile devices

So here comes the ~~sub-prefect~~ tax on private copying again. Today applied to mobile devices (including refurbished smartphones since 2021) and digital storage media (DVD, hard drives, etc.), this royalty of a few euros paid to cultural rights holders (such as SACEM) for compensating for private copying of their works is no longer suited to modern practices. In any case, this is what Rachida Dati's Ministry of Culture seems to think.

A tax to modernize

This ministry commissioned two studies to try to make this tax more relevant. The first dates from several months ago and will conclude in a few weeks. It involves a panel of users gauging their copying habits on three media, namely smartphones, tablets and computers, new or refurbished.

The second study has just been entrusted to Pierre-Jean Benghozi, research director at the CNRS. The man has until March 31 to submit his conclusions and provide “methodological insights“around the calculations to be applied”particularly with regard to the market, its practices and modes of consumption of cultural works.“In short, what price to apply to what.

Prices and practices that have evolved significantly

A complex project which will not be too much, especially when we see the difference between the prices of 2012 and those of today, for DVDs and cinema tickets for example. The question of video streaming is also a new element to take into account, while the calculation carried out today does not take into account the storage capacities of modern devices. Thus, all smartphones are taxed at €14.

Although its outright abolition was considered for a time, the tax on private copying still brought in 279 million euros in revenue in 2022. In 2023, however, it was down 16%, to 234 million euros. 'euros.