Internet Taxation Essay -- Taxing Internet Web Essays

Internet Taxation Should states and local governments be able to impose internet tax on individuals and corporations? Maybe they should not, but they are. There are currently twelve states and the district of Colombia that currently impose sales tax on internet access. There are also 10 states that presently collect taxes on data downloads. Who pays for these taxes? And how is this tax computed? Is there truly justification for this taxation or is it just another way for federal, states, and local governments to collect potentially huge tax revenues? And what effects will these taxes have on the internet? Would taxing the internet kill the industry? In any case, individuals should educate themselves about internet taxation. There are three primary types of internet taxes: taxes on internet access, Sales and use tax, taxation on information and other non-tangible goods obtained from the internet (http://by4fd.bay4.hotmail.msn.com). One type of internet tax is the Internet access tax. These are taxes enforced on individuals or corporations for use internet access. Currently, there are 10 states which charge for internet access. These taxes are sometimes undetected by the customer because the tax is already embedded in the information or data processing services fee or the telecommunication services fee that is already being paid. So it is likely that firms or individuals don’t even realize they are paying this internet tax. If the internet tax is not already imbedded in these fees it would mean that the firm or individual would have to pay additional fees to access the internet. In many situations the imposed taxes are paid for by the internet service provider. For the states that are not currently paying taxes f... ...ack and watch internet retailers take advantage for so long. Though it seems fair to tax information and intangible goods, many internet customers are not going to be willing to pay for these taxes in addition to having to deal with longer time period to access the internet. Usually when people pay more they expect something in exchange. So taxing information and intangible goods does not seem like a wise move to make, unless there is a way of speeding up the internet speed and/or making internet access faster. Customers are just not going to pay more for less. This assignment has made me aware of what internet taxation is and informed me about the major controversy over it. I now know that there are many states in the U.S. that charge customers internet taxes. And I feel fortunate to live in Arizona where we do not have to pay these taxes at this time!!!