The big challenge? Figuring out what can/should be taxed and what rules generally apply. The National Taxpayer Advocate suggested this week that the "IRS issue guidance addressing how taxpayers should report economic activities in virtual worlds."
"Economic activities in virtual worlds may present an emerging area of tax noncompliance, in part because the IRS has not provided guidance … Read more
With Apple's last Macworld keynote speech just hours away, Microsoft is again talking up the idea of an "Apple tax" that people pay when they opt for a Mac over a Windows PC.
It's a concept that Microsoft started touting in the fall. While the words may be fairly new, the melody sounds familiar. Saying that customers pay an added cost when using a rival is a well-worn page from the Microsoft playbook. One need only look back to the anti-Linux "Get the Facts" campaign for another example.
In any case, it is a … Read more
As reported in Friday's Wall Street Journal, the music industry has apparently given up on suing 13-year olds and dead people in its quest to stem music piracy. Instead, it plans to work with ISPs to identify and notify copyright infringers of the need to come clean:
[T]he Recording Industry Association of America said it plans to try an approach that relies on the cooperation of Internet-service providers. The trade group said it has hashed out preliminary agreements with major ISPs under which it will send an email to the provider when it finds a provider's customers … Read more
Rana and CMC join the show for a "what's up" with iPhone apps and a warm farewell to the last dick. Is Steve Jobs alive? Will New Yorkers pay tax on their iPods? Will Guitar Hero ever add death metal tracks? All these answers and more on The 404. Did we mention that we've got two flesh and blood females on the show? Make sure to stick around until the end of the episode when we find out that Rana has a secret celebrity crush...
EPISODE 249 Download today's podcast… Read moreNew York wants a share of iTunes' money.
The state is staring at a $15.4 billion deficit so Gov. David Paterson is proposing an "iPod tax" as part of his state budget. Under the plan, New York would charge state and local sales tax for "digitally delivered entertainment services," according to a story in The New York Daily News.
That includes e-books downloaded to Amazon's Kindle as well as for the digital songs obtained from Apple's iTunes. If the state legislature passes the governor's plan, the price of digital content for New … Read more
In response to a customer revolt on the Internet, Intuit has decided to eliminate fees it introduced with TurboTax 2008 that would charge users for preparing multiple returns.
The maker of the popular tax-preparation program announced Thursday that it would drop the $9.95 fee it introduced with this year's release, while still maintaining free e-filing for its customers.
"We're responding to changing market conditions and customer feedback," Dan Maurer, general manager of Intuit's consumer division, said in a statement. "We believe this better positions TurboTax in the marketplace with an even stronger value … Read more
The mouse hits 40-year milestone http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7768481.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7761262.stm http://news.cnet.com/2300-1041_3-6248261.html… Read more
A correction was made to this story. Read below for details.
The prices for Intuit TurboTax and H&R Block TaxCut have shifted significantly, making it tough to tell how much you'll actually pay to file 2008 returns using their software or online services.
Among the good news is that both brands now offer free federal electronic filing, which has cost up to an additional $20 in the past. But some users of the market-leading TurboTax desktop software are venting bitterly on online forums about Intuit's new charge of $9.95 for each federal return prepared beyond … Read more
Updated December 8 at 9 p.m. with Inuit comment.
Revisions incorporated into Intuit's TurboTax 2008 have led to a bit of a tax revolt by reviewers on Amazon.com.
The tax preparation program, which is a top seller at the online retailer, has garnered an Amazon customer rating of one and a half stars out of five. As of Sunday afternoon, an overwhelming 82 reviewers (out of 90) gave the program the minimum one star, compared with four reviewers who gave it the full five-star rating.
However, it's not the features nor functionality with which the majority … Read more
Warner Music Group has a proposition for U.S. universities, according to Techdirt: buy a blanket license to music downloads through file-sharing services, or be sued.
Techdirt thinks that this is a bad idea, and I disagree.
Techdirt's criticisms are clear:
It's basically a music tax--allowing the record industry to be lazy. Someone else gets to go out and collect all this money, and hand it over to the industry to distribute (or, actually, not distribute). It effectively sets the business model of the recording industry in stone, and harms better, more innovative business models by inserting the … Read more
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