The Interior Department had originally proposed a cut-off price for royalty exemptions of $5 per million British thermal units, or B.T.U.'s, of gas.
In addition, he said he would freeze the federal travel budget, reduce oil royalty exemptions for drilling on federal lands, cut 100,000 federal contractors and reduce electricity use by the government by 20percentt.
However, the most noteworthy exemption from royalty collection allowed by the PVP Law is that of seeds that are saved for "private use" (commonly known as farm-saved seeds), as prescribed in Article 10, Section 1 of the PVP Law.
In 2006 U2 Ltd moved most of its tax affairs to Holland, seemingly in response to the Irish government's decision to cap the tax-free exemption on royalties at €225,000 (before this, artists in Ireland were not obliged to pay any tax on royalties).
The House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property passed the Performance Rights Act, which would reverse terrestrial radio's exemption from paying royalties to the performers of sound recordings, which satellite and Internet radio stations are required to pay.
Existing stations thrive on an array of perks won by radio operators, including free use of the airwaves (XM and Sirius, by contrast, had to pay almost $200 million combined for their spectrum) and an exclusive exemption from paying royalties to performers.
He said that BMI and Ascap, the two major organizations overseeing music rights, had approached him about collecting royalties, but that he claimed an exemption as a nonprofit organization under fair-use laws.
Environmental campaigners claim the hard-pressed US Treasury could save more than $60bn over the next five years by phasing out a host of allowances and exemptions such as tax credits, royalty relief, insurance and preferential financing.
Radio stations contend that existing exemptions from royalties for over-the-air broadcasts also cover their Internet transmissions.
* $400 million in exemptions from federal royalties for oil and gas drilling on public lands.
