The tax solves nothing, just as Vancouver's tax won't actually address the problem. It'll just generate more tax revenue.
Intellectual property is such a vast, ethereal concept that even pinning it down is damned near impossible.
That picture your kid drew that's on your fridge, do you pay tax on that? What if you put it on Instagram? What if your picture goes viral? What if it's co-opted by Wal-Mart and put on a bag, so you file a cease and desist? What if you make your own merchandise? There's such a slippery scale here that to tax everything, unilaterally, is absurd, and pinning down when something is impractical.
Are you purposely ignoring the discussion? There was no one, especially not me, talking about taxing the picture your kid drew. You're arguing a strawman.
Intellectual property is such a vast, ethereal concept that even pinning it down is damned near impossible.
That picture your kid drew that's on your fridge, do you pay tax on that? What if you put it on Instagram? What if your picture goes viral? What if it's co-opted by Wal-Mart and put on a bag, so you file a cease and desist? What if you make your own merchandise? There's such a slippery scale here that to tax everything, unilaterally, is absurd, and pinning down when something is impractical.