Interesting Associated Press story:  Japan Government Panel Mulling "IPod Tax":

A Japanese government committee is mulling a copyright law revision to charge royalties on digital music players, but the opinion is so divided on the so-called "iPod tax" that it isn’t likely to be imposed, officials said Wednesday. Japan already levies an extra fee for copyrights on gadgets sold in stores such as mini disk recorders that consumers can use for home copying of music. That charge, generally 3% of the product’s wholesale price, is included in the price tag so most shoppers aren’t even aware they’re paying it….

The possible new charge has been dubbed the "iPod tax" by the Japanese media, although the money doesn’t go to the government.