What You Should Be Asking About Internet Legislation: Part II
In part I of "What You Should be Asking About Internet Legislation" Questional discussed the questionable nature of the language used in so called Internet Freedom acts. In part II we'll look at the Internet and the economy.
In part I of "What You Should be Asking About Internet Legislation" Questional discussed the questionable nature of the language used in so called Internet Freedom acts. In part II we'll look at the Internet and the economy.
For Once They Get "Freedom" right
Jon Ensign
The
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2011 (S. 135) actually is just what it sounds like: A permanent ban on imposing sales tax for interstate e-commerce. Currently if you buy an item on the Internet from an out of state seller the seller is not compelled to charge sales tax for the item. The bill proposed by Republican Senator
John Ensign of Nevada came after an election year where conservatives campaigned on anti-tax and smaller government points. The bill may also be a reaction to the
Mainstreet Fairness Act (H.R. 5660) proposed by Democrat Representative William Delahant of Massachusetts in the 111th congress. While H.R. 5660 never made it into law, it would have made provisions for compulsory tax on Internet sales. The Main Street Fairness Act has been around for more than a decade and is expected to be re-introduced to the 112th Congress by
Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Democrat.
Know When to Hold 'em: Congress and Internet Poker
One area Congress is currently looking to tax is Internet poker. Recently the FBI made headlines by shutting down four popular Internet poker sites. Their authority to do so comes from the 2006
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, an amendment to the existing
Security and Accountability for Every Port act, also from 2006. While the 2006 addition to the US Code gives the federal government the ability to shut down Internet gambling sites,
Republican John Campbell of California has another idea: Tax it. To that end he introduced H.R. 1174, or the
Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. H.R. 1174 provides for licensing, regulation and taxation of Internet gambling sites in America.
Mike Enzi
Both Democrats and Republicans view the Internet as a legislative tabula rasa. Much like early Internet users in the 90's felt that it was a legal "Wild West" current legislators view it as an economic Wild West and are scrambling to impose their idealogies in the tax laws. Republicans are trying to protect consumers by keeping the internet Tax Free (except for the Vice Tax on gambling) while Democrats are looking ot protect sellers by imposing sales tax.
Manifest Destiny: The Internet Frontier
The knee-jerk reaction of many Internet consumers is to keep the Internet tax-free. But why should e-commerce be any different than brick and mortar transactions? If we're willing to pay a few cents extra (unless you're in Delaware) in person why are we reluctant to do so when we're at our keyboards? Is the issue actually one of ideology rather than economy?
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