'iTunes Tax' rears its ugly head

A bill is waiting to be passed in the US that will allow for digital media sales to be taxed.

If it goes through, it will mean that the cost of downloadable songs, TV shows and movies on, say, iTunes will go up.

This is not the first time that a tax like this has been discussed. According to Wired.com, the person introducing the current tax bill is Charles Calderon, the same person who tried to get a similar bill approved earlier in the year.

Taxing times

If the bill is a success, the repercussions could be huge, even though for now, it will only affect the US state of California.

Effectively, the tax would punish those who legally buy music and films from the internet, and it could even drive out entertainment companies from the US state.

Luckily, Calderon's bill hasn't garnered many supporters, with Tom Harman, a Republican, explaining to Wired why the bill is still a bad idea:

"The iTunes and Internet tax bills illustrate a complete disregard for sustaining a healthy and vibrant business climate in California.

"These measures stem from an arrogant assumption that the government must find a way to tax because of overspending legislators' own fiscal irresponsibility."

Let's just hope Harman's words ring true when the legislation is considered later in the year.