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Tech at Night: Kill SOPA, and even a Constitutional Internet Sales Tax is the wrong idea

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  January 7th, 2012 at 03:00 AM  | 

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Tech at Night

Internet access is not a human right. It’s not me saying that, either. It’s Vint Cerf, Google’s Internet Evangelist.

ESA May be backing SOPA, but we’re seeing developers themselves such as Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios come out against it. But support for the OPEN Act is growing, as it protects American rights without trying to censor the Internet or impose destructive burdens on Americans online.

Defeat SOPA. Pass OPEN. Everyone wins. Even if the RIAA and MPAA think they’d benefit from government picking winners and losers.

I respect Haley Barbour for being Constitutional in his support for an Internet sales tax compact, but I still say it’s a bad policy. Not only does it run the risk of America ending up with a Canadian-style Harmonized Sales Tax, complete with a true national sales tax, but there’s a more basic issue than that. Sales taxes aren’t what are helping firms like Amazon win. Firms like Best Buys simply deserve to lose.

And we must not let envy from failing retailers drive policy designed to punish the superior online competitors.

One of the quiet stories of the Obama administration is the way he’s been letting Internet governance get out of hand. We used to be in charge, and we were great stewards of the Internet. Now we run the risk of UN-style control. The same UN that would vote to wipe out Israel if it could.

Shocker: Lower Power FM is not the economic end of the world that big media firms would have had us believe.

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  • satchman3

    It’s called use tax. If states would get serious about collecting it – maybe make some big fines for folks who don’t pay – the issue of untaxed internet sales could be resolved without writing one word of legislation.

  • jakeofalltrades

    to spare their customers the trouble.

  • bishopcruz

    I don’t know how much better OPEN would be, I tend to be on the side of just about any attempts on regulating the internet is probably ill advised. Don’t we already have IP protection laws on the books? Do we really need more?

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Which is why the Wyden/Issa OPEN bill brings the ITC into it.

  • stenwilson

    As a Republican and small business owner I also became concerned about taxing out of state internet transactions. After all who wants to pay more tax? Paying sales tax on Internet purchases is in no way a new tax.

    The reality is we are all paying increased mandatory, such as property tax, taxes to make up for those who choose to evade their tax obligations. We all drive on the same highways, however only some choose to observe the posted speed limits while others choose to play cat and mouse with law enforcement officials. The same holds true for sales tax on Internet sales. Out of state merchants may not be required to collect and remit sales tax on your behalf, but it is still your legal responsibility to keep track of and remit use tax on all purchases.

    Many states continue to raise existing taxes and fees to make up for their citizen’s tax evasion practices burdening many undeserving residents with increased tax bills. After all if I have a bad year financially and choose not to purchase a plasma screen television or pay the associated sales, however if my neighbor has a little extra money and buys a plasma television online electing to evade sales and use tax legally due I am burdened with higher property taxes thanks to the selfishness of my neighbor and others electing to evade their tax obligations. Simply, we all pay higher tax in other forms to make up for state budget shortfalls resulting from diminishing tax revenue sources such as online sales tax.

    More importantly technology is available freely on the Internet today making tax calculation, collection and remittance for all businesses easier than processing shipping. Actually my business is now enables to calculate, collect and remit sales tax for any jurisdiction in any state and the registration and implementation took less than twenty minutes. Many popular payment platforms and internet shopping platforms currently offer the same service. My accountant ad bookkeeper are grateful to no longer be burdened with remedial tax calculation and legacy tax returns. My sales tax processing is now automated and efficient having progressively employed modern technology.

    We as a society have dug ourselves into a huge fiscal hole partially through the selfish and continued illegal act of sales tax evasion. States, having been backed into a corner by their own residents, are now asking Congress to close the loophole enabling their rights to collect sales taxes legally due.