“Democratic politicians in state capitols are more likely than Republicans to permit what critics are calling the ‘iTunes tax’–taxes on digital purchases of songs and movies. A CNET News.com analysis of the states that tax digital downloads, such as those from the iTunes Music Store, shows that nine protax states have legislatures controlled by Democrats. By contrast, five of the protax states have Republican-controlled legislatures,” Declan McCullagh reports for CNET News. “New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, proposed in his budget that ‘downloaded music and videos’ be taxed starting Oct. 1. The state tax agency expects legislation to be introduced in June.”
“Taxpayer advocates have criticized the trend toward increased taxation of downloaded media files,” McCullagh reports. “‘I’m sure that state and local officials, given enough time, will come up with a sky-is-falling study saying that if they’re not allowed to tax this, they’ll lose a trillion dollars a year,’ said Pete Sepp, vice president for communications at the National Taxpayers Union, a nonpartisan group that advocates lower taxes… Sepp also argues that digital downloads are already being taxed. He says that anyone connecting to the Internet through dial-up, DSL or a cable modem is already paying telecommunications taxes; anyone with an iPod paid sales taxes on it; companies offering downloads are paying property taxes; their stockholders are paying dividend or capital gain taxes; their employees are paying income taxes.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Democrats are more likely to favor taxes than Republicans? Shocker.
Advertisements:
• Apple’s brand new iPod Hi-Fi speaker system. Home stereo. Reinvented. Available now for $349 with free shipping.
• Apple’s new Mac mini. Intel Core, up to 4 times faster. Starting at just $599. Free shipping.
• MacBook Pro. The first Mac notebook built upon Intel Core Duo with iLife ’06, Front Row and built-in iSight. Starting at $1999. Free shipping.
• iMac. Twice as amazing — Intel Core Duo, iLife ’06, Front Row media experience, Apple Remote, built-in iSight. Starting at $1299. Free shipping.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
Related article:
Steve Jobs uses 4.5M Apple shares to pay $295M in taxes on 10M vested shares – March 24, 2006
Forbes’ list of world’s richest people: Apple CEO Steve Jobs 140th with $4.4 billion – March 09, 2006
Democrats propping up illegal aliens one minute then knocking them down the next. Total flip flopping slime! It’s disgusting! Build a wall and keep these people out! They have zero right to be here. If they want to come to the US do it legally like everyone else. Democrats see these people as potential votes, that’s all.
“Typical liberals. Tax and spend, tax and spend…it never ends. As for “tolerance,” the only damn thing liberals and Democrats are tolerant of is their own misguided agenda.”
You REALLY want to talk about spending? With Cowboy Bush spending more then we will EVER be able to pay back. Let’s ask Halliburton for some of the money back… wait… why bother the middle man, where is Cheney?
Bush takes over with a budget surplus, turns that around quickly into the largest deficit we have ever had and that was before Katrina… so don’t blame it on a natural disaster, unless you count Bush and his administration a natural disaster.
The Dude abides.
Taxes pay for things like schools, road, teachers, cops, national defense and nurses. It’s also used to pay off the national debt which was incurred on your behalf in case anyone forgot and it’s quite possible that the debt is as high as it is because American’s don’t pay enough tax which why the the rest of the world has to fund the national deficit not to mention the trade imbalance.
Ironic that the debt has in fact increased under spend and borrow Republicans and was being paid off by tax and pay your own way Democrats.
There’s such as a thing as too much tax and not enough tax.
Of course the libs want to tax everything. It is worse here in Europe … its out of control taxation.
In Finland here, they even have a goddamn dog tax, 22% sales tax, 3.50 bucks tax on a liter of gas, etc. It never ends.
Why should this come as a surprise to anyone? The tax, then spend politicians are always looking for something new to tax, and the internet and satellite transmissions are the next area to fund their excesses. Enjoy the tax-free status of iTunes while it lasts…….
There is a civil war coming. We cannot live together, you and us.
“Well I guess you have to pay off those trillions of dollars in deficit somehow!”
Is that the deficit created by years of Republican-controlled congress and executive branch?
Geeze MDN, nothing like striring the hornets nest! I get the feeling you guys get a chuckle out of threads like this.
Let’s see here: both parties spend like drunken sailors (Bush has NEVER vetoed a bill in 6 years!), but Dems want to raise taxes to pay for spending and Republicans want to cut taxes. Which is more fiscally responsible?
Geez, MDN baiting Democrats and supporting the Republican Party? My that’s a shocker…considering the “Fox News” style MDN utilizes to ridicule anybody who isn’t a 100% Kool-Aid drinker it’s par for the course. Forget the “Ugly American”; MDN definitely represents the “Ugly Mac User”…we’re not all so smug. And the fact Jobs and Woz are committed Democrats becomes MDN’s lame proof that they’re “fair and balanced”…Phtppppppt! ACK! ACK!
John Kerry, Hillary, Barbara Streisand, Ted Kennedy, Michael Moore, and all the scummy, commie, libs, that have a lot of money take advantage of every tax loop hole they possibly can. These people pay less in tax than the average Republican. Plenty of evidence out there to support this. They just use the Jerry Springer watchers to prop them up with power by promising them freebies at the hard workers expense!
Let’s add the billions upon billions that the Iraq war has cost (and will go on costing for generations). Where is your fiscally responsible Republican god now?
No WMD. No 9/11 link. No stable democracy. More Muslim hatred. More terrorists. More worldwide unrest and danger.
Thanks, Republicans!
(MDN word: Justice.)
If Democrats are so eager to pay more taxes, then go right ahead. No one will prevent you from overpaying your taxes.
Just keep your greedy hands out of my wallet. I pay PLENTY of taxes already!
The problem is not the Democrats or the Republicans (or maybe it is with both), the problem is our societies mind-set. We want, want, want from the government but then hate the idea that we have to pay for it.
I do not like the idea of any new tax and I probably lean toward being a libertarian but I also recognize that taxes are part of life as we have all defined it.
Currently many people make purchases over the Internet simply because out-of-state purchases are not taxed. If taxes are added to iTunes purchases then the same tax should be added across the board and should be very small (1% or less).
Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?
RC:
I suppose that conservatism is the answer to the US’s current problems ?
Last time I checked, conservatism was the CAUSE of the US’s current problems. See the Bush White House.
How conservatives / Republicans / right-wing nut jobs can continue to extoll the “values” of conservatism given the current BS that they’re putting the country through shows pretty clearly who has the mental illness.
Troll bait, MDN. My respect for this site has gone down a notch.
One of our cities will get nuked, or exposed to chemicals from a sabotaged American plant becasue the Republicans cave in to their big corporate donors and refuse to tighten up security requirements for our nucelar and chemical plants and for containerized shipping. Democrats, gutless wonders that they often are, will whimper protest, but go along so they will not appear soft on terrorism, nor jeopardize their corprate gravy train either.
Politics is a disgusting enterprise and cheering for one side or the other reveals only what a naive fool you are.
MW: similar. Republicans and Democrats are so similar that we get a choice only between Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dummer.
“Frank” now that sounds like a nice native american name… accordingly I’m sure there’s no chance you or your relatives were ever immigrants, and therefore no hipocracy in your viewpoint.
Course, if your just another fat white neocon, then your logic also applies perfectly to you… and all there is to say at this point is …
buh-bye
Freddy,
You must be friggin’ kidding me!!! How much tax did Bush’s bestest buddy Ken Lay pay? What about Jack Welch?
I used to work for a private Swiss bank. These guys have armies of tax attorneys that do nothing but ensure they pay as little tax as possible.
Got here to late to say this but…..Gentlemen..Start your Flamethrowers!!!!
“and in other news the flip flopping, freedom of speach hating, dems…”
Bush, our Flip-Flopper-in-Cheif:
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/pp.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=118263
Top 10 richest people in congress 9 of them are democrats
Rich is no longer Republican.
Some of the riches CEOs are Democrats
Rich is no longer Republican
The Dud,
Two things for you to think about my metally challenged person, 9/11 and terrorism. The crazy muslims gained all of their power under the Democrat’s watch. Clinton did nothing to rein these threats in. Clinton had more corruption on his watch than any other US President.
If you follow the facts, you know that this administration tops all prior, in terms of gov’t spending.
Hence, more taxes are inevitable; if you spend more than you have, you must pay.