I was a customer before this whole thing unfolded... and this has convinced me to support them with my business.

They could have just handed over everything, but they chose to challenge things and act in their customers best interests.

+1 for this (no mod points, plus i already posted on this as well).

Several years ago bootleg cigarettes were a huge issue here (Ontario). Since most of the price of them is taxes the government was actually forced to lower the taxes to compete and try to end the black market.

This "10 years in jail" sure sounds like a "cobra effect" waiting to happen:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...

Who will pay to house the inmates? Since this law benefits a specific industry, they should fund it. Why should my tax dollars go to imprison someone for downloading music?

No, in the US you pay taxes on "property" as the OP stated (not just realestate)

Case in point, property tax on vehicles:
"Motor Vehicles are subject to a local property tax under Connecticut state law. This applies whether or not the vehicle is registered. The local property tax is computed and issued by your local tax collector."

So, if IP is property, why cant we tax it like other forms of property?

You do need an account if you want to download anything (even freeware) from the "app store".

Are you sure they subsidized your PC? I'd guess the "bloat-ware" money went straight to the vendor's bottom line.

Not exactly true, most countries have a "tax on foreign income" requirement.

Here (Canada) we have this: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nd...

The question becomes how much of the "income" was earned in the US vs what is "foreign" and earned by the foreign entity?

Isn't apple known for paying large royalties to its "IP Owner" which is a small two man operation in Ireland? In which case Apple USA never makes any money because Apple Ireland has a large royalty fee.

If you want to "fix" this, tax corporate income the same way you tax individuals income.

The 24 inch HP monitor right in front if me is 16x10 (1920x1200) which seems to disagree with your statement.

Well said.

Look at the history of the US interstate system and see why it was built out..
Back when it suited the US they spent money on infrastructure (creates jobs, ease of troop movement, etc).

Much of this is now crumbling while billions are spent on newer "bombs" which serve little purpose.

What does inflation in the US look like in your situation?

http://www.investopedia.com/te...

You should read up on Canada's "Lobbying laws"
http://www.ocl-cal.gc.ca/eic/s...

They are not the same as the US and are rather strict and they have charged people for doing it.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics...

Thankfully Canada introduced UBB (Usage Based Billing) to prevent stuff like this from taking off here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I...

How long until everyone else adopts UBB to thwart the offerings from competitors?
(Yes, i know there are companies offering unlimited access and i have my service with one of them).

Looks like even "Rogers" (early UBB adopter) has started offering "unlimited" plans as an add-on.
Odd, they said they needed to charge for usage as a small number of customers were "hogging" all the bandwidth. Guess they "solved" that and now if you pay $25 you no longer "hog" the available bandwidth?

I was referring to the "four tones" of mandarin.

http://mandarin.about.com/od/p...

"When learning new vocabulary you must practice both the pronunciation of the word and its tone. The wrong tones can change the meaning of your sentences."

They discuss the issue using the classic "ma" example as well.

Funny you mention that as i wasn't commenting on why they were different.

If you look here the Canadian Senate released a report to "explain" the price gap.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/...

The problem is the report fails to point the finger at what is probably the single greatest reason for the price gap (the government).

Buy a pair of kids socks in most US states and you will find they are tax exempt.
Not so here, the government wants its 13% tax on that purchase (Ontario, we have HST)

Buy a winter coat in most states and only pay taxes on the "non-exempt" portion (assuming your coat is over the non-exempt amount).
Buy a winter coat in Canada, and it is 100% taxable, clearly they have no issues taxing "required" things as well.

Heck, they even tax food here (there is a very small list of "exempt" items, but only what they determine is "essential").

Click these links and tell us what you found:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/Search/S...
http://www.bestbuy.ca/Search/S...

As you said, one describes the computer, the other is a job. How are they the same thing?

I just wish consumers would be able to take advantage of "global markets" the same way the large multinationals can.

They are free to export their jobs to the cheapest source, but thanks to copyright laws and "region restrictions" we (the consumer) cant re-import products where they are cheaper.

Real dvd's (not bootlegs) sell for like a dollar in China and $29 here. Why cant i import them and sell them for $10 and make a tidy profit?

First-sale doctrine says i can, lawsuits says you cant.