3 ms·

This is unrelated to net neutrality.

metaphorm 10y ago
the conventional definition of net neutrality is with respect to internet service providers favoring certain traffic over others. you're correct that taxation of internet streaming content by the government is not what is conventionally meant by net neutrality. however, I do think that taxation is highly relevant for issues of economic fairness. is Pennsylvania subjecting streaming services to a different level of taxation is their non-streaming competitors? that would be economically unfair in a similar way that non-neutral network access would be unfair.
- unfletch 10y ago
  > "Is Pennsylvania subjecting streaming services to a different level of taxation is their non-streaming competitors?" The first sentence of the article (emphasis mine): "Pennsylvania has joined several states in enacting a tax on digital streaming and download services." Unless you can think of a competitor that offers neither streams nor downloads, no, they're not.
  - metaphorm 10y ago
    the relevant competitors would be cable television, subscription satellite TV services, and various forms of offline media distributing the same content (DVDs at Walmart for example).
    - unfletch 10y ago
      I'm not sure how offline competition relates to the "net neutrality" topic in this thread, but any offline competitor necessarily has a physical presence in the state, so it would have been subject to tax for from the beginning.
      - metaphorm 10y ago
        so not DVDs at Walmart then. what about satellite or cable TV?
        HuggableSquare 10y ago
        DVDs at Walmart would be covered by sales tax, as would satellite and cable TV, unless it's a basic subscription. From Pa. Code § 9.2. Sales and use tax changes: (2) Pay television. Pay television except for ‘‘minimum pay television’’ is taxable. This includes anything charged to a customer for a service other than minimum pay television service. For example, if a cable television customer purchases basic service and in addition purchases a ‘‘pay’’ channel, tax is owed on the price charged for the ‘‘pay’’ channel. Installation and repair service for pay television with the exception of minimum pay television also is subject to tax.

the conventional definition of net neutrality is with respect to internet service providers favoring certain traffic over others. you're correct that taxation of internet streaming content by the government is not what is conventionally meant by net neutrality. however, I do think that taxation is highly relevant for issues of economic fairness. is Pennsylvania subjecting streaming services to a different level of taxation is their non-streaming competitors? that would be economically unfair in a similar way that non-neutral network access would be unfair.

unfletch 10y ago
> "Is Pennsylvania subjecting streaming services to a different level of taxation is their non-streaming competitors?" The first sentence of the article (emphasis mine): "Pennsylvania has joined several states in enacting a tax on digital streaming and download services." Unless you can think of a competitor that offers neither streams nor downloads, no, they're not.
- metaphorm 10y ago
  the relevant competitors would be cable television, subscription satellite TV services, and various forms of offline media distributing the same content (DVDs at Walmart for example).
  - unfletch 10y ago
    I'm not sure how offline competition relates to the "net neutrality" topic in this thread, but any offline competitor necessarily has a physical presence in the state, so it would have been subject to tax for from the beginning.
    - metaphorm 10y ago
      so not DVDs at Walmart then. what about satellite or cable TV?
      - HuggableSquare 10y ago
        DVDs at Walmart would be covered by sales tax, as would satellite and cable TV, unless it's a basic subscription. From Pa. Code § 9.2. Sales and use tax changes: (2) Pay television. Pay television except for ‘‘minimum pay television’’ is taxable. This includes anything charged to a customer for a service other than minimum pay television service. For example, if a cable television customer purchases basic service and in addition purchases a ‘‘pay’’ channel, tax is owed on the price charged for the ‘‘pay’’ channel. Installation and repair service for pay television with the exception of minimum pay television also is subject to tax.