Canadian actors have slammed two federal cabinet ministers for “political manipulation” after they turned thumbs down to a so-called iPod tax to compensate content creators.

“Today’s event was an election-style stunt in front of a foreign-owned retailer using young people as political props, it was completely unbecoming of two ministers of the crown working on the taxpayers’ dime,” Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s national executive director said.

The union head was reacting to heritage minister James Moore and industry minister Tony Clement using Ottawa’s Rideau Centre shopping mall as a backdrop to announce they will not extend an existing levy on blank cassette tapes and CDs to iPods and other mp3 players.

“The iPod tax would add up to $75 to the price of every mp3 player and smart phone on the market. It would hurt the economy, punish consumers and families, and send the wrong message during this fragile economic recovery,” Moore indicated.

ACTRA’s Waddell called on the politicians to “stop spreading misinformation” about extending the private copying levy to compensate copyright holders, including Canadian actors.

“The only ‘tax’ on iPods is the HST which the ministers’ government collects,” he argued, indicating content creators are seeking compensation for the use of their work.

ACTRA also took issue with Moore and Clement pointing to a possible $75 tax on new iPods, as the actors union argued the levy has not yet been set, and will likely be in the $2 to $25 range, depending on a device’s capacity.

ACTRA has been part of a consortium of Canadian artists and pressure groups that have called on the federal government to include a tax on digital recording devices as part of the Copyright Modernization Act, or Bill C-32, now making its way through Parliament Hill.