Comments on: States may tax iTunes, other digital downloads

Because of legal quirks, many states including California don't tax digital downloads such as iTunes or Kindle purchases. But as electronic commerce grows, "iTaxes" may be coming.

[TheAppleDoctor]

How long before updates and patches are taxed, probably based on initial purchase price? And 'free' software? After all, most states have a Gift Tax in one form or another. Just make the vendors assign a dollar value. Paranoia? Maybe, but experience shows that the scent of tax revenue draws politicians like chum draws sharks.

[bigmc6000]

What the heck is this guy talking about? I've been paying sales tax on my iTunes purchases for years - they aren't going to add a tax on top of sales tax because that's the same amount they tax CD's. I want to know what free-loader state doesn't tax iTunes downloads. I know you can get away with it with Amazon because they only technically operate in a few states but, like I said, I've been paying sales tax in iTunes for a very long time. (FYI - I'm in Texas and my iTunes bills show up as being from Austin, TX). I think you should just get over it - I don't have any problems with them charging me sales tax since I am, in fact, buying something that isn't exempt (i.e. groceries). But of course maybe that's why Texas is one of the only states with a surplus at the end of the year...

[TrippyCandy]

Just a question, did you read the article? They stated Texas has been taxing digital downloads. (9th Paragraph). I don't think you got anything to worry about

[dascha1]

I don't see a problem with the accessible music network subscription as tax to generate better quality and dispersion of service in the metrics. I mean, by law, no one has to access water, electricity or telephone service but most do to spur daily productivity.

[ferretboy88]

NY state will do this for sure. They need more money to give to people on welfare. We already have some of the highest property taxes and get taxed twice every which way. I bet people who are on welfare will get a tax break on this.

[Lerianis]

ferretboy88, get off the welfare thing. Look at what your taxes are REALLY being spent upon.... most of them are not spent on welfare recipients, most of whom are getting welfare RIGHTFULLY because they had children before they got on welfare, lost their jobs or had an injury that prevented them from working, and cannot find a new job because of our crappy work market.

Most of your taxes are going: to keep up our tens of thousands of nuclear bombs (we really only need about 100 of them for national defense), to the Army (who waste a heck of a lot of the money on 'future weapons' programs that are big money sinks and the 'future weapons' never come about), and on things like: road repair, school building, paying the paychecks of our elected officials, etc. - things that are NECESSARY to do in our society.

Welfare is a DROP IN THE BUCKET compared to all those other things.

[Laserdisc]

I have to disagree with both of you. NY taxes aren't being wasted on "Military" or "Welfare" programs. Most of it is being wasted on the hundreds of little "projects" that our so called leaders are perpetrating. Such as millions wasted on the whole Andrew Cuomo "usenet child porn" cause of his which does nothing to prevent the spread of such material BUT gives him alot of press. More millions being wasted on laws that will be overturned as "unconstitutional". Beautification projects that take presidence over actual infrastructure improvements. Need I go on? What tickles me is they keep raising or adding more taxes but it's never EVER enough. People thought Bloomberg would be perfect since he's a supposed financial wizard. People mistaken him for an entrepreneur like Ross Perot or Mark Cuban but Bloomberg is just a very successful banker. No more - no less.

[joetesta70]

TAX $TEVE JOB$

[Gromit801]

Why don't you get a little therapy for your "Bash Steve Jobs" at every opportunity problem?

You haven't proven yourself to be any better than anyone else.

[Lerianis]

This is absolutely ridiculous. Don't these states realize that ONLY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN TAX THINGS THAT GO OVER STATE LINES. That includes digital downloads as well, that could bounce all around the WORLD before getting to your computer.

This is blatantly in opposition to the interstate commerce laws, and I hope that someone will take these states to court if they try this BS, preferably the feds.

[i_am_still_wade]

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street.
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat.
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.
If you ride a bus, I'll tax your seat.

Instead of more taxes, why not cut off the lazy freeloaders? Why not? Because that makes sense.

[Lerianis]

Most of the 'lazy freeloaders' that you are referring to are NOT lazy freeloaders. In fact, I worked for social services for awhile, and everyone who was getting welfare..... they were getting it for a good reason.
The fact is that the REAL problem is that we allow business to hire/fire people on a whim.... if we would start MANDATING some job security, most of those 'lazy freeloaders' (who aren't usually lazy but cannot get a job because they have to take care of their children, which they had BEFORE getting on welfare) would be able to get a job and KEEP a job.

[JCPayne]

NO NEW TAXES!!!!

[MadLyb]

Wow, have to comment all over the place on this one. First, the article.

"...something that uses no oil and produces no carbon."

I guess Mr. Delbianco hasn't ever paid the power bill on a datacenter before. Those things don't run on sunshine and rainbows.

I'm not happy about taxes, but they do serve a purpose, and if states don't receive revenue from sales because they occur online then they will simply go get it somewhere else, so it's time to quit dancing around this and apply fair and standard taxes to online purchases.

Lerianis: A state or municipality CAN tax a transaction that occurs across state lines if the seller has a place of business in that state or municipality, they can tax the sale...and Apple has a lot of stores.

[SteveDelBianco]

MadLyb -- think about the differentlal impact of physical vs digital distribution. Amazon and Barnes & Noble have servers which consume energy just like the Apple online store. Digital downlaods, however, avoid all the oil consumption and carbon production involved in physically getting discs to the store or your home, and in getting you to the store.

[Lerianis]

You are right...... and wrong actually. The seller has to have a place of business CONNECTED with the thing that is being sold, i.e. a retail Apple store is NOT an iTunes server farm, therefore they are NOT allowed to put taxes on iTunes downloads.

Before you start spitting and sputtering.... that came straight from a House of Representatives person who I sent an e-mail to about this. It was also confirmed by the numerous lawyers I talked to about this after I posted my comment.

You can tax things if someone is shipping things to someone else in your state FROM a distribution center IN your state, even if it is done by mail-order or online.
If the distribution center (the place the thing is coming from) is NOT in your state..... they have no right to taxes, EVEN IF THERE ARE PHYSICAL RETAIL STORES IN YOUR STATE OWNED BY THE PERSON YOU BOUGHT THE THING FROM.

[itchief]

Another example of The State providing no value added yet claiming it has a right to tax a product or service that originalts beyond its boundaries, simply it is destined to be used within its jurisdiction.

[spm82]

You quite succinctly said exactly what I am thinking. I'm enraged at the federal and state governments' growing sense of entitlement. CNET's earlier story about NY State charging sales tax on internet-based purchases had several disturbing quotes from NY politicians, including one along the lines of "Some citizens are getting away without paying their fair share [of taxes]". The state of Washington provides value to Amazon. The state government of New York does nothing directly to benefit Amazon, yet they think they're entitled to more tax money simply for existing. The best kind of government is the one that stays out of the way of its citizens' day-to-day lives.

[gsmiller88]

"Nexus" is flawed. I have purchased items online from Apple for many years and have always been taxed but up until very recently there wasn't even a single Apple store in the entire state of Kentucky.

[fdunn3]

But I'll bet they have a service presence in your state. A presence of any type from the company constitutes a taxable presence.

[grissomb]

Let's make a trade.

You tax me, and we do away with DRM.


I don't mind being taxed on a CD. I have it there in my hands. But I don't like the thought of being taxed on a restricted copy of something that can get lost in a disk crash.

[fdunn3]

Then buy the CD.

[ralfthedog]

I lost some files I downloaded from iTunes. I was registered as owning the files so I was able to re-download them free. I also had some CDs destroyed. Unfortunately, Walmart did not replace those free.

[jbs36]

[ptkdude--2008]

Georgia taxes these purchases as well. If you add a gift card to your iTunes account and buy items using that you are NOT charged tax. You aren't charged tax when buying the gift card at a retailer, either.

[protagonistic]

Since I live in a state with no sales tax it looks like a lot of my friends who do not will be wanting music for Birthdays and Christmas. Only an idiot would pay these state money grubbing politicians more of their hard earned cash.

[fdunn3]

If you don't have a sales tax then you have a state income tax. A lot of states do not have income taxes and make up for it with sales and property taxes.

[ralfthedog]

"If you don't have a sales tax then you have a state income tax. A lot of states do not have income taxes and make up for it with sales and property taxes."

Check his IP, he lives in Alaska.


:)

[humanssssss]

What does the government do to deserve this tax? To expand their ever growing lazy, money sucking workforce while making consumers pay?

Unless there is a specific justification for tax, I don't think we should be taxed. We should have this digital tea party. No taxation without justification!

Government taxes people to hire more cops to make more laws and to imprison them and control their daily lives. That's exactly what England did to the Colonists 300 years ago.

[ralfthedog]

States do things like roads and schools. I am unfortunate enough to live in a low tax state. Trust me, Infrastructure is good.

[Lastly]

I was thinking the same thing when I started reading this article. About time we banded together and did something about it. We vote them in and they just seem to think that votes gives them carte blanche to do whatever they think is ok and not bother asking their constituents what they think just because they were elected. Some of US would definitely do a better job representing WE THE People?

Funny thing is I met some people that moved here from Russia and they were moving back because they said Russia was way more free than the US.

[little sue]

WHY NOT TAX THE AIR WE BREATHE. OR JUST FOR LIVING.THEN JUST TAX EVERYTHING

[Laserdisc]

The technology just isn't there yet to allow the govt. to tax the air we breathe. BUT worry not it is coming.

[Lastly]

As I read your comments I thought? It's so funny to think how comfortable we Americans have become with being taxed. Anyone remember the Boston Tea Party?? Of course we do have the opportunity to vote for our representatives, but do they actually represent "US" and what's really good for all Americans? Has anyone noticed how much money politicians make in comparison to most taxpayers for the amount of time they spend at their job working and what they actually do for the income, expense/staff/office/utility money, benefits like health coverage, retirement, transportation, free trips, etc they are paid/receive from our hard earned tax dollars??? Is the service they provide really providing value added for the tax dollars that you are paying them to spend your money??? Have you ever noticed when taxes are raised or new taxes are enacted that politicians are usually the first ones to get a raise? Maybe they should make minimum wage and benefits like most taxpaying Americans, which would cut out some of the fat and they'd see what it's like to live on a nonexistent budget. It's always easier for someone to spend money that isn't theirs that they didn't have to work for, and to tax it as well.

Perhaps politicians should first address what the tax would be used for instead of just identifying another cash cow. So many times they tax something referring to a problem, ie cigarette taxes, but do they really use the money to try and solve the problem? My suggestion would be to take that money and at least establish regional hospitals to treat people suffering from cigarette related illnesses. Perhaps locate them at State Universities where they already have hospitals and research staffs in place. Not using the money to increase politician salaries or for other projects that have nothing to do with solving the problem. See where I?m going with this? In this case use the money to help train Americans for careers for all of the technological challenges that America and the world will be facing in the future or maintain the technological infrastructure. Not just the rampant tax and we have more money to spend on whatever attitude we have going on now. Is it going to upgrade the infrastructure, pay for what??? What needs fixed in your area? OR should the US be fixing things in other parts of the world??? We should have learned about what happens to America?s competitive edge from what happened when we fixed the steel mills overseas and didn?t upgrade the steel mills in America. Hardworking Americans lost their jobs and became freeloaders as some of you call them because there weren?t jobs for them to go to or they didn?t have the resources to make their own.

What's important to the average taxpaying American? Many of the wealthy don't care because they can usually afford to buy whatever they need, but the question is, can you, can your community? I think a lot of Americans should start comparing the US budget to what is absolutely necessary. We need to make a list of priorities we can agree on and then tell our elected representatives to start representing US and our interests. I mean they are supposed to be representing/working for US not US working for/supporting them. Somewhere we all got brainwashed into allowing them to have full reign over the cookie jar.

Yes, there are some lazy freeloaders in the US, but they are part of our community. How do you choose who is most important to give public assistance to? How much money is actually needed to maintain the life style we here in America take so much for granted and should everyone be allowed to enjoy that lifestyle? If you've ever had to go without a job for an extended period of time, you'll know how difficult it can be to find another decent paying job or any job for that matter and get hired when there are hundreds of other people trying to get that same job. The thing that bothers me about this line of thought is that Americans are so willing to help freeloaders in other countries, but so many of US are so willing to not help our own. When we provide aid, we shouldn't be providing cash. (It rarely gets where it should be going...) We should provide goods manufactured in America that are transported on American forms of transportation which could help to reduce the trade deficit (rather than giving them money to buy foreign goods with US dollars making the trade deficit worse) and provide jobs for American taxpayers. We are so busy taking care of the rest of the world that we've let ourselves go. We need to start taking care of America before we can't take care of everyone else and then what?
Perhaps what our government needs to do is figure out how much money we are spending on other countries then tell every country we have been supporting that they are going to have to do without/make it on their own for a year or two. Divide up what we give to other countries and give every American a million/billion or whatever it divides into. Then people would have money to spend, start businesses, fix things, go to college, travel, buy things, squander, gamble, drink or whatever they choose to do with it, since it is our money. See how much that generates from the taxes already in place. Sure some families will get more than others, the rich will get richer, some will do nothing, those that do will try and take advantage of others, charitable contributions will be made, but it will be a fair/equitable division. See what Americans do for US, watch our economy boom with a real influx of capital not some teeny stimulus check, but a massive one, watch the businesses that are started that hire American taxpayers. Then you can tell those freeloaders to take a hike, they had their chance.
FYI, I don?t download music, but like others am concerned about this lack of regard for taxing every and all things just because the politicians can. Seems to me, income tax was actually supposed to be a temporary thing that has continued without checks and balances. Taxes limit people?s ability to participate in all that is America because it takes money to pay for taxes they could choose to use for something else so maybe we should start limiting the Tax Man. Just ask the oil companies why they are crying foul when our representatives even hint at taxing their record profits that are being raked in at our expense.

Anyway, I could go on, but I appreciate you taking your time to read my thoughts!

[shanedr]

These states need to realize they are on very thin ice. Right now if you purchase something by mail you owe the money to your home state; this defies logic and a strict interpretation of interstate commerce laws. The simple fact is whether you are physically visiting that state, making a catalog purchase, making an online purchase or just downloading. Any taxes should be due to the state in which the seller is, not the state where the purchaser lives. If the state where the purchaser lives made the determination as to where the sales taxes went, everyone would be paying sales taxes to their home states no matter what state they make the purchase in.

[benjaminstraight]

It was only a matter of time, especially with the economy currently in a down-turn.