April 16th, 2009
Hide your iPod, the tax man cometh
CNet News.com reports that Mississippi has passed a law that will levy sale and use taxes on goods delivered electronically, including digital movies, digital audio (including music and ringtones) and digital books. HB1461 which was adopted in mid-March and goes into effect July 1.
A growing number of states are considering laws to tax digital goods, such as iTunes songs, Amazon MP3s, or electronic books. Yet at a time when governments say they want to encourage broadband adoption and the development of a low-carbon economy, opponents say taxing digital goods sends exactly the wrong message.
And that’s just the beginning. In addition to Mississippi, at least 18 other states have their eye on lucrative digital downloads from the likes of iTunes and AmazonMP3 and plan to tax them shortly.
North Carolina is currently weighing a bill “to modernize the sales and use tax statutes by treating music, movies, books, and computer software that are delivered electronically the same as those that are purchased in a tangible medium.” Minnesota also introduced a digital goods tax measure in late March which the state is hoping will raise more than $8.2 million between 2010 through 2013.
Isn’t this the wrong time to be raising taxes? Let alone on goods that have little or no carbon footprint? Or are digital downloads like everything else and subject to taxation by states?
Where’s my tea?
Image: TechCrunch
Jason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.
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