Quote:
Originally Posted by Ethersync
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I think these politicians are looking at this all wrong. They wouldn't have to tax legal downloads if they would simply block/ban tube sites and piracy. The tax base is not being lost to legal download venues like I-Tunes and some of the other VOD theatres. The tax base is being lost to the damning ripple effect of piracy and tubes. When content is "shared" (i.e. stolen) then revenues dive for the producer, who then either shoots fewer scenes (stop calling me for work chick), ships less product to distributors (which means their $/tax requirements drop too), cuts rates for talent (not only am I shooting you fewer times, but I'm now paying you less too), stops using locations and stops using makeup artist. Oh yes. Piracy throws a vicious monkey wrench in that money flow cycle.
What has happened? Producers, and the tentacles from that wheel, have diminished revenues, so in turn the government's taxes will diminish too (I know some don't pay them, but you get the idea). And frankly, if reductions don't right the ship, then the layoffs begin, which could ultimately lead to closure in some cases. So again, the government needs to look at eliminating piracy as not helping porners, but rather protecting its tax base. At least that excuse will go over with the voting church folks. Does it balance the budget? Of course not. Does it help? Damn right. Demand is not down. That's bullshit. The availability of "free" is up. That's the problem. I bet they would love to have the tax revenue from Tower Records (remember them?), all of the Tower employees who got pink slips when they closed (which was due to piracy) and from the record companies tax base before piracy became so widespread. Hope porn doesn't follow that path.
