From: blane@aa.net (Brian C. Lane)
Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1996 16:54:45 +0800
To: Alan Olsen <alano@teleport.com>
Subject: Re: ****Tacoma, Washington Starts Taxing Internet Access 07/30/96
In-Reply-To: <2.2.32.19960805181729.00e8c4a0@mail.teleport.com>
Message-ID: <3206e54a.46270083@mail.aa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On Mon, 05 Aug 1996 11:17:29 -0700, you wrote:

>At 05:42 AM 8/5/96 -1000, NetSurfer wrote:
>>
>>On Wed, 31 Jul 1996, Joseph M. Reagle Jr. wrote:
>>
>>>   	  				 
>>> >WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1996 JUL 30 (NB) -- By Bill Pietrucha.  
>>> >Tacoma, Washington, has just gained the distinction of being the 
>>> >only municipality in the United States to tax Internet Access 
>>> >providers (IAPs) like telephone service providers. 
>>> >
>
>I believe the reason the Tacoma ordinance is getting so much flack is that
>they are wanting to charge sales tax on all transactions that take place
>from ISPs in Tacoma.

  

>
>This type of taxation is not new.  Various jurisdictions have tried to use
>the same thing on mail order houses.  Having worked for a service bureau
>that dealt with mail order, I know what a hassle it is to try to keep track
>of such taxation.  There is a company that will sell you the data of all of
>the sales tax rates throughout the country.  This includes every little
>podunk city, county, and fire district tax.  They are divided by zip code,
>but that is no guarantees that you have the right place. The reality is that
>trying to "be legal" under such regulations is next to impossible, even with
>the proper data.  I know of few mail order firms that are willing to go to
>that extreme.  (Unless, of course, they have gotten the proper threats from
>some miffed tax baron.)
>
>And they wonder why there is so much disrespect for the law...
>---
>Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction
>        `finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key 
>                http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ 
>  "We had to destroy the Internet in order to save it." - Sen. Exon
>                "Microsoft -- Nothing but NT promises."
>
>

------- <blane@aa.net> -------------------- <http://www.aa.net/~blane> -------
     Embedded Systems Programmer, quick hacks on request, CryptoAnarchist
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