The leftist-rightist Greek government unveiled and ratified a last-minute amendment on Thursday evening in Parliament that’s bound to irk the country’s “tech savvy” population, slapping a 2-percent surcharge on the sale of tablets.
The surcharge was included in a bill submitted via a fast-track legislative process by the culture ministry on managing intellectual rights.
The relevant ministry had initially pointed to a 1-percent surcharge, which in the end doubled to a 2-percent levy on all tablets sold in Greece with a RAM memory exceeding 4 GM. Conversely, a proposed 1-percent surcharge slapped on the sale of smart phones was withdrawn at the last minute, with Greek Culture Minister Lydia Koniordou – a stage actress by training – explaining to MPs in Parliament that court cases are pending with mobile phone companies.
The Greek state’s “bite” on the sale of PCs remains at 2 percent, while a 4-percent surcharge will be imposed on photocopier, scanner, printer and print paper sales, as well as external discs of up to 1 Tbyte.
The surcharge’s revenues will, according to the bill, be collected and distributed to the holders of intellectual property and copyright through their relevant associations.
