New online ads from the Conservative Party are sounding off about what they claim is a Liberal-led plan to implement a tax on personal audio players and other devices.
A new audio ad claims that the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois back "a brand new tax" that would see Canadians pay up to $75 more for "iPods, smart phones, personal video recorders, MP3 players and just about anything with a hard drive."
The Conservative party website says that opposition parties backed a Bloc Quebecois motion to implement a so-called "iPod tax" back in April.
The Liberals say these claims are not true, though they do want to see the country's copyright laws updated.
"The Liberal Party does not support the iPod levy. It is not sustainable in a world of changing technology, and is unpopular with consumers," Liberal critic Marc Garneau said in a statement.
Instead, the Liberals say they would like to use federal funds to compensate artists for illegal downloads, as opposed to a tax on consumers.
Canadian artists have been lobbying for a levy on iPods and MP3 players for months, though it seems that neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals support such a move.
The dispute over the alleged "iPod tax" comes at a time when Canada's political parties appear to be gearing up for a possible election next year.
CTV's Richard Madan said the Conservatives are using the new ads to paint the Liberals as pro-tax and to link them to the failed coalition of opposition parties from two years ago.
"They are using that word ‘coalition' once again, trying to lump the Liberals, the New Democrats and with the help of the Bloc Quebecois as one scary coalition," he told CTV News Channel from Ottawa on Friday morning.
