Internet Taxes Ahead?
Internet commerce is thriving in part because the U.S. Congress has
exempted online sales and access from taxation. But the concept of a
tax-free Internet is now facing serious threats.
Congress has created an Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce. The
Commission is supposed to deliver a report on tax recommendations to
Congress in April 2000. Opening statements at the group's first meeting
clearly indicate that the majority of members favor some form of Internet
taxation.
"We must not allow the Internet to become a tax haven that drains the
revenue governments need to provide the services that citizens demand," was
how Commission member Joseph Guttentag, a top Treasury Department official,
put it.
In other words: politicians are salivating at the prospect of grabbing a
big piece of Internet commerce and sticking their fingers into a
currently-forbidden corner of our wallets. Never mind that governments at
all levels are awash in money, taxes are at record highs, and the
"services" government provides are mostly coercive and grossly inefficient.
As if taxes weren't bad enough, there's another sinister side to this.
Guttentag and other Commission members worry that encryption might allow
buyers and sellers to evade taxes. So, you guessed it. Exploring
restrictions on encryption is also on the Commission's agenda.
In 1765 Britain's notorious and invasive Stamp Act infuriated American
colonialists and ultimately helped set off the American Revolution. It
sounds like today's King George III's are planning an electronic Stamp Act
for the Internet. It will be interesting to see how Netizens react.
(Source: Associated Press)
| 
