IP: Re: Bit tax again? -- and now, an "Information tax"

[Dave Farber <farber@central.cis.upenn.edu>]

Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 15:06:56 -0700
To: jim bell <jimbell@pacifier.com>
From: jwarren@well.com (Jim Warren)
Cc: Dave Farber <farber@central.cis.upenn.edu>


[Feel free to recirculate this.  --jwarren]


>Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 19:47:55 -0800
>To: cypherpunks@toad.com
>From: jim bell <jimbell@pacifier.com>
>
>I hesitate to write about this, but the old "bit tax" idea has surfaced
>again, this time reported in in Electronic Engineering Times, page 1, April 29
>...




I don't know why you would hesitate to write about it.


Although it's not *quite* the same issue, there's legislation in
Californica <sic> to create a commission to study the horrors of tax
"losses" due to the Internet (SB 1384, California Internet Review
Commission), and how those losses can be "corrected."


And whanson@govtech.net (wayne hanson) just sent this, spotted at
<http://www.ggtech.com>:


Texas Taxes Internet Commerce. The Texas State Comptroller's Office has
ruled that information sold over the Internet from servers located in Texas
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
is subject to sales and use taxation (Comptroller Ruling, Microfiche No.
9601L1289G04, Jan. 8, 1996). According to the Comptroller's Office,
information that is downloaded from the Internet after a customer's credit
card information has been provided is subject to sales tax. Since the
Internet is accessible anywhere, server locations in Texas should be
regarded as the point of sale. Where information is sent out of state in
diskette form, however, the sale is not regarded as having taken place in
Texas and is not subject to taxation in that state.


       In a spate of rulings, the Texas Comptroller's Office has held a
variety of Internet-related products and services to be taxable:
  Internet access software (Microfiche No. 9412L1329C01, Dec. 5, 1994)
  Dedicated telecommunications svcs (Microfiche 9408L1318E08, Aug. 11, 1994)
  Unlimited access to computer system (Microfiche No. 9502L1345E05)
  Creation and maint of Internet "home page" (No. 9509L1375F11, Sep. 19, 1995).


Seems to me Florida is already taxing ISPs -- who get the money to pay
those taxes from only one source; their users -- but I don't recall the
specifics.




The First Rule of Government:  "Build it and they will tax."


-jim
Jim Warren, GovAccess list-owner/editor, advocate & columnist (jwarren@well.com)
345 Swett Rd., Woodside CA 94062; voice/415-851-7075; fax/<# upon request>


[puffery:  John Dvorak Lifetime Achievement Award (1995); James Madison
Freedom-of-Information Award, Soc. of Prof. Journalists - Nor.Cal. (1994);
Hugh M. Hefner First-Amendment Award, Playboy Foundation (1994);
Pioneer Award, Electronic Frontier Foundation (its first year, 1992);
founded the Computers, Freedom & Privacy confs, InfoWorld; blah blah blah :-).]