Campus Bookstores and Student Leaders Call on Government to Eliminate Private
Tax on Imported Books

OTTAWA, Nov. 15 /CNW/ - Today, Campus Stores Canada (CSC) and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) called on the government to remove aspects of the Copyright Act that artificially inflate the cost of imported textbooks. 

"Most Canadians, and especially students, are likely unaware that Canada's book importation policy inflates the costs of the books that they buy by as much as 15%," said CSC Executive Director Wayne Amundson. "These regulations needlessly take about $30 million annually from the pockets of Canadian students."

The Copyright Act allows publishers of non-Canadian books to designate exclusive distributors for their works within Canada. Book importation regulations promulgated under the act outline the maximum prices that exclusive distributors are able to charge: the cost of the book in the country of origin, the difference in exchange, plus an additional 10 or 15%. So long as the exclusive distributor does not charge more than this, it is a copyright violation for booksellers to import from someone other than the exclusive distributor. CSC and CASA consider this additional 10 or 15% to be a private tax on imported books, paid by consumers and collected by private corporations.

"While this private book tax means that all Canadians spend too much on books, it hurts university and college students the most," said Zachary Dayler, National Director of CASA. "Students can spend as much on a term's worth of textbooks as a month's worth of rent, and course requirements leave them little ability to defer or delay purchasing texts."

While the ongoing amendments to the Copyright Act offer an excellent opportunity to strike this tax, government is not constrained by legislative action. "With the stroke of a pen, the government could change these regulations, decreasing the price of textbooks by as much as 15%, virtually overnight," said Amundson.

"Canada has an opportunity to dramatically reduce the price of learning materials, and with it post-secondary education, at no expense to the public purse," concludes Dayler. "That's a win for students and a win for government."

Campus Stores Canada is the national trade association that represents institutionally owned and operated campus bookstores, and has almost 100 member stores and 80 vendor and supplier associates across Canada. CASA is an alliance of student associations and student unions from across Canada. It has 26 member organizations and represents over 320,000 students nationwide.

For further information:

Michael Powell: W: 613-233-8906; C: 613-797-7313; E: [email protected]

Campus Stores Canada: www.campusstores.ca

Canadian Alliance of Student Associations: www.casa.ca