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I'm struggling to understand why this is a Good Thing. Internet access is a service like any other and collecting taxes on goods and services is in the public i

I'm struggling to understand why this is a Good Thing. Internet access is a service like any other and collecting taxes on goods and services is in the public interest. Isn't it? Have I missed something?

gradstudent 11y ago
I don't mind being downvoted but can those doing it please comment? I'd like to understand your perspective. At the moment all I'm getting is "fuck taxes". Which, OK, is a position, but not a tenable one for running any kind of civilised society. Governments need revenue to operate. Why should utilities be exempt from taxation and why is Internet access in particular so important? Why not electricity or water instead and why should these exemptions apply to everyone? I don't get it!
- tyingq 11y ago
  It's a culture thing. One of the primary motivators for the revolutionary war was sales taxes on sugar, molasses, tea, etc, from the British Empire. In the early days of the US, there were no sales taxes...for 140+ consecutive years. The first sales taxes were put in place by US states as a way to deal with shrinking revenues during the Great Depression in the 1920's. They started with only taxing goods, not services. In general, services are still taxed much less often than physical goods. For example, most states do not tax the services of doctors, dentists, or attorneys. Then, there are US states that have no state sales tax of any kind at all. This, of course, makes sales tax appear arbitrary to people in states that do have them. Edit: On this: "Why not electricity or water instead and why should these exemptions apply to everyone?" ... my best guess is that the cat was already out of the bag there. It's difficult to roll back something that's already happening in a widespread way. This law regarding taxing internet access has been in place since 1998, before many were using the internet...ahead of any broad taxation on it.
prodigal_erik 11y ago
Taxes can cause undesirable side effects and destroy more value than they capture. Why should we single out goods and services just because they're bought online? To exempt brick & mortar businesses is to artificially prop up business models that the market seems to be declaring obsolete.
- gradstudent 11y ago
  Sorry, I'm not getting it. Wikipedia [1] tells me the 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act was introduced to stop governments at all levels imposing "Internet taxes" on services that are provided electronically via the Internet. Like email. I agree such taxes are arbitrary and quite stupid. That isn't my question however. My question is about why the provision of Internet access should not be taxable like everything else. You pay taxes on the provision of other goods and services, including utilities. Why exempt the Internet? If the argument comes down to ensuring universal access to basic utilities, why not exempt all utilities? More, why should the exemptions apply to everyone instead of just the disadvantaged? The entire idea strikes me as completely bizarre and alien. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Tax_Freedom_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Tax_Freedom_Act

gradstudent 11y ago

I don't mind being downvoted but can those doing it please comment? I'd like to understand your perspective. At the moment all I'm getting is "fuck taxes". Which, OK, is a position, but not a tenable one for running any kind of civilised society. Governments need revenue to operate. Why should utilities be exempt from taxation and why is Internet access in particular so important? Why not electricity or water instead and why should these exemptions apply to everyone? I don't get it!

tyingq 11y ago
It's a culture thing. One of the primary motivators for the revolutionary war was sales taxes on sugar, molasses, tea, etc, from the British Empire. In the early days of the US, there were no sales taxes...for 140+ consecutive years. The first sales taxes were put in place by US states as a way to deal with shrinking revenues during the Great Depression in the 1920's. They started with only taxing goods, not services. In general, services are still taxed much less often than physical goods. For example, most states do not tax the services of doctors, dentists, or attorneys. Then, there are US states that have no state sales tax of any kind at all. This, of course, makes sales tax appear arbitrary to people in states that do have them. Edit: On this: "Why not electricity or water instead and why should these exemptions apply to everyone?" ... my best guess is that the cat was already out of the bag there. It's difficult to roll back something that's already happening in a widespread way. This law regarding taxing internet access has been in place since 1998, before many were using the internet...ahead of any broad taxation on it.

prodigal_erik 11y ago

Taxes can cause undesirable side effects and destroy more value than they capture. Why should we single out goods and services just because they're bought online? To exempt brick & mortar businesses is to artificially prop up business models that the market seems to be declaring obsolete.

gradstudent 11y ago
Sorry, I'm not getting it. Wikipedia [1] tells me the 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act was introduced to stop governments at all levels imposing "Internet taxes" on services that are provided electronically via the Internet. Like email. I agree such taxes are arbitrary and quite stupid. That isn't my question however. My question is about why the provision of Internet access should not be taxable like everything else. You pay taxes on the provision of other goods and services, including utilities. Why exempt the Internet? If the argument comes down to ensuring universal access to basic utilities, why not exempt all utilities? More, why should the exemptions apply to everyone instead of just the disadvantaged? The entire idea strikes me as completely bizarre and alien. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Tax_Freedom_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Tax_Freedom_Act