In an effort to collect more taxes to enable the government to run its day-to-day activities, different levies have been introduced on different goods and services in the country whether directly or indirectly. On its latest levy introduction, the government will effectively from the 15th of September 2023 start taxing Blank Tapes in a new levy called Blank Tape Levy. In the world of technology and entertainment, the Blank Tape Levy will be a levy collected on items that may be used to carry copyright-protected content for private copying payable at the point of entry into or at the point of first manufacture locally. The items include USBs, flash disks, cassette tapes, or blank CDs.
In a statement released on Monday, September 11, 2023, KECOBO (The Kenya Copyright Board) said the tax will be effected on September 15, 2023. These news comes in the midst of Kenyan content creators complaining about the revenue they receive from bodies in charge of collecting them. The primary purpose of this Blank Tape Levy is to compensate copyright holders for potential losses stemming from private copying of copyrighted material. In essence, it aims to address the widespread practice of making personal copies of music or other copyrighted content without explicit permission.
“The Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) is a state Corporation established under Section 3 of the Copyright and related rights on Kenya.
This is to notify the general public of the commencement of the implementation of the Blank Tape Levy with effect from September 15, 2023 pursuant to sections 28(3)(6) and 30(6) of the Copyright Act and the second schedule part B of the Copyright Regulations 2020.
Blank Tape Levy is collected on items that may be used to carry copyright protected content for private copying payable at the point of entry or at the point of first manufacture locally.
Kindly contsnct the Executive Director, Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) for any clarifications on info@copyright.go.ke.”
As many Kenyans especially content creators and copyright owners are awaiting for this levy to take effect, the question still remains will the collected revenue be able to reach the intended personnel? Or it will be just another exploitation of content creators.