> That they actually incurred the losses they claim to have incurred, so they get a tax break. The taxpayer is defrauded.

Did they not incur such losses? Did they claim to delete the movie but actually kept a backup? Granted, the loss is self-inflicted, but that's not a relevant factor in the tax code.

It is zero when the hard drive holding the only copy is degaussed.

Tax write-off means you don't pay the taxes. It doesn't mean a full refund of 100% of the cost by the government.