http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/ Engadget Comments for Lawmakers eying taxation on digital downloads http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 5:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 6:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 5:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 8:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 10:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 11:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
It's kind of like giving an increase of allowance to your crystal meth-addicted, freeloading loser of a son who just wrecked the family car and got his underage girlfriend pregnant, all the while going over his text messaging limit and squandering the share minutes plan and causing a $3000 cell phone bill last month.
]]>Apr 17th 2008 11:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/"hey, people have even less money than ever for disposable income! let's make sure they have even less of it!"
sheesh. ]]>Apr 17th 2008 5:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 5:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 5:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 5:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
I totally agree with that.

Politicians can be tempted to make bad policies which are popular with the people, thus keeping him in power.

And the people are a generally selfish lot.]]>Apr 17th 2008 7:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 6:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
Closing “tax loopholes” is harder than it sounds. For every dollar these large companies are taxed, the chance of them leaving the country increases. This is a very real threat to G7 countries, especially with respect to their finance, insurance, and energy industries.

As for the download tax, I would be all for it if they were to replace the income tax with it! ;-)
]]>Apr 17th 2008 3:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/paying tax can‘t be avoid，as birth and die as well]]>Apr 17th 2008 6:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apple, can you pay the sales tax?]]>Apr 17th 2008 7:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
Sod that!

]]>Apr 17th 2008 7:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 6:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
it's the quickest way to kill a burgeoning industry]]>Apr 17th 2008 6:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
So your going to Google.com and you decide that you want want to view pictures. You click on one but little be known, you have to pay for it. Your like WTF. So you exit the Google image search and decide to go to iTunes to purchase the new soundtrack from Disturbeds new album. Little behold, it shows $1.00 in tax. Now your really pissed off at this point. Thinking to yourself, who in the fuck makes up stupid ass laws for the internet.

Now hoenstly, this idea is fucking stupid. They are trying everything to tax the internet & its really pissing me off. This better not happen, or you might notice people may never buy things again (which thats wrong because there is always someone buying something.)]]>Apr 17th 2008 6:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 6:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 1:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 12:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 6:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
Brilliant. These guys are frickin genuises.

"From the forest itself comes the handle for the axe".]]>Apr 17th 2008 8:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/I'm happy that people are finally waking up (no, that wasn't sarcasm)]]>Apr 17th 2008 7:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
This whole tangible versus intangible for sales tax, I *thought*, was just intra-state, not inter-state.

So let's muddy up the water some more, just like a bookkeeper or accountant would do who is ripping you off, add a few tens of thousands
of more lines of code to the tax code that as it stands now, nobody... I mean nobody, not even a speed-reader, could finish reading in one year's time. What is it, 4 million words already? And that's just the federal tax code!

Reminds me of the SC saying in the Eighties that backing up your software or CD was legal, but then congress, via the DMCA, making it illegal.

And while on my soapbox, if you have never had a run-in with the IRS, prepare for hilarity if you have a good CPA. I had a 20 year veteran of the IRS getting 'schooled' by our CPA telling her that, "no, you need to read section 'blah blah' of IRS document 'yada yada', it will tell you what you are saying is incorrect".

How much was the tax that started the Boston Tea Party? Hint: a hell of alot less then we are now paying.

Funny this should be brought out just a day or so after "tax day".

And now, as I climb down off my soapbox, I take a bow among the enthusiastic clapping and yelling of "BLOAT!".

Thank you, and may G-d bless Amerika!






]]>Apr 17th 2008 7:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
4 million words ??? !!! Is that supposed to be a public document that the public is entittled to read? because how is it possible to read something that big?

]]>Apr 17th 2008 10:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
Actually I was mistaken. I thought there was one document that contained it all... there is not. According to the article I sourced below, congress estimates the complete federal (not counting state) tax code to be "from 1,000,000 words and 2,500 pages up to 500,000,000 words contained in 60,00 (sic) pages.". So let's take a tenth of the maximum estimate of 500,000,000, which would be 50,000,000 words.

And here is the kicker, every year they add some more words that either modifies or contradicts the previous 50,000,000 words.

http://redbluffdailynews.com/ci_8932412

"smart"? No, 99.9% of the time I pull stuff straight out of my @ss.

]]>Apr 17th 2008 11:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 7:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
morale is very important for the economy, if people cant afford to buy music, movies or books America will be headed for a much longer-term recession.]]>Apr 17th 2008 7:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
We as engadget must unite and fight for the cuase!]]>Apr 17th 2008 8:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 8:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
Without a viable third party candidate, it's just a magic show. And even with a third party candidate that could make it, then you have to deal with a congress that is nothing more then an orchestrated ballet that would dance circles around the President.

Hate to be a pessimist, but I was once a staunch conservative on the fiscal side, and pretty liberal on social. But since everything boils down to money (and yes, oy-ellll, the thing nobody wants to admit to needing, but has to have), I would usually support the repub side (in the past).

Now? Blech! Give me one repub candidate that would actually take a conservative stance on the economy, and has a track record of coming through on his words.


]]>Apr 17th 2008 8:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 8:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
If the States are revenue short, to freaking bad. Stop the freaking spending. Stop giving huge tax brakes to businesses, married people, those with children, etc.

Single people get screwd!!! I am tired of paying for other people's lifestyles and kids(child credits, free or reduced healthcare/daycare, etc.)

I HAVE HAD IT!!!

]]>Apr 17th 2008 8:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
Where is the free/reduced healthcare you are talking about? I have two kids and I could sure use that.

FYI The tax breaks that having kids gets you does not even compensate for the expense of having kids. Mind you, I am not complaining. We had our kids by choice. Also, since when is being married a "lifestyle". You chose to be single good for you. Some of us choose to spend the rest of our lives with someone and create a legacy of that union.

But yeah, taxation is getting way out of hand. That's why I'm teaching my "legacies" to go into government/politics where the money is, stealing is legal, corruption is just a day-to-day affair and screwing over those that put their trust in you is your reason for living....]]>Apr 17th 2008 6:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 8:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 8:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
So if the downloads already have sales tax added. What there trying to do is make an extra tax for digital downloads?

Or is it that Downloads where previously except from normal sales tax? And they just want to bring digital downloads in line with other forms of purchase?

If the latter I really dont see the problem with this as almost every other country in the western world already has this.]]>Apr 17th 2008 8:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
This runs into at least two different things that you, as foreigner (again, no offense), might not be aware of. One is the never-ending battle of state's rights versus federal rights, and the itty bitty problem that taxes are pretty much despised in any way shape or form because roughly 225 years ago, we had a minor disagreement with England over taxes... specifically, taxation without representation.]]>Apr 17th 2008 9:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
This doesn't sound like a windfall opportunity to me.

Granted, they wanna tax EVERYTHING, but I still think it would only add a few million to each state's coffers. This is small money.

If states want big money, their leaders and representatives should do 3 things:

1) Crack down on illegal immigration. As much as I love and approve of the "browning of America", these people don't pay taxes yet use state services that are funded by taxes. In California, this translates into tens of billions of dollars.

2) Actually represent 75% of Americans who don't want to keep sinking billions of federal dollars a day into failed wars. The money NOT spent on killing poor people on the other side of the world can be used to raise federal funding in education, infrastructure, health care, economic development, and crime prevention. This would lower state spending, thus reducing the need for increased taxes.

3) Close state and federal loopholes that allow large companies to dodge 30-60% of their taxes. Currently, that percentage of tax revenue is held in offshore accounts or is re-invested into capital in other nations, leaving it unavailable to America. This amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars every year that Americans never benefit from.

Now if only we could find some politicians with backbones...]]>Apr 17th 2008 8:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 9:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
The point is, you can't close multi-billion dollar gaps in funding like this. The reasons for these deficits are systemic and until they're addressed, you'll keep seeing band-aid solutions like this.]]>Apr 17th 2008 9:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/$4,000,000,000 revenue * 5% sales tax = $200,000,000
$200,000,000 / 50 states = $4,000,000

Which is still a drop in the bucket. Average state revenue is like $10 billion a year. But please, in the future, use a calculator.]]>Apr 17th 2008 10:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
Thankfully, just made it so they could define each state-county-tax-rate correlation and left it at that, as it was scope creep already. ]]>Apr 17th 2008 8:55AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
The above is/was a reply to Marquoz.]]>Apr 17th 2008 9:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 9:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/Apr 17th 2008 9:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/17/lawmakers-eying-taxation-on-digital-downloads/
They made onling GAMBLING [where people really don't give a sht about what happens to their money] ILLEGAL, yet they want to tax music downloads where, lets see, if they are looking to generate revenue will be a large percentage of each song.

I think you're going to see NAFMTA pushing Comcast for some Optikal.]]>Apr 17th 2008 9:22AM