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A ATT WORRIED iPhone's Lock Picked By New Jersey Teen Armed with a soldering iron and a large supply of energy drinks, a slight, curly haired teenager has developed a way to make the iPhone, arguably the gadget of the year, available to a much wider audience. George Hotz of Glen Rock, N.J., spent his last summer before college figuring out how to "unlock" the iPhone, freeing it from being restricted to a single carrier, AT&T Inc. (More)
New Internet Taxes: Who will really suffer if this becomes a reality? There are two areas to discuss when talking about internet taxes. One is an internet sales tax and the other is an internet access tax. Currently there is no tax on access -- in other words, access to Dialup, DSL, or Cable. The other tax is on internet sales outside of the state where the seller is located. So what is the big fuss? Here goes. We'll tackle the internet access fubar first. We all realize the internet has made access to information a click away. It has opened up lines of communication previously very difficult to maintain. It has changed the way our politicians communicate with us and in general has brought the world even closer together. It has also opened up new markets for ecommerce and business promotion. It has become a necessity for most of us. We all understand this. The main problem with taxing access is that businesses, individuals, and government all lose. There is no real winner. Individuals suffer on price, even $9.95 dialup could be a thing of the past, not to mention taxes on DSL, Cable, T1s, and T3s. You want to stifle the expansion of Broadband across the United States, tax it! Whoops, poor people (economically challenged for you PCers out there) will just have to keep going to the library if they want fast access. I guess proponents of access tax legislation are sending the message loud and clear. Starting and maintaining a small business is already difficult -- believe me I own and operate one. What you aren t taxed on in one level, you will assuredly be taxed on another. The big problem is where will the tax stop? States, Counties, City? And, what will the tax be? It seems in the area of taxes every level of government can be likened to what I call the piglet analogy: Consumers and Businesses are the sow (female pig) and different levels of government are the piglets. The sow has all the milk and the piglets want all the milk. The piglets fight, squeal, and bite each other until they get their turn at the milk. Every piglet wants its cut. You want to stifle online and offline prosperity, start taxing the internet. Small governments and states love entrepreneurs. You want fewer businesses, let's start taxing access. Fewer businesses of course mean less sales tax, not to mention corporate taxes, and in some states franchise taxes etc. Tax the very thing that makes infinite information exchange and online ecommerce possible. Sounds like a brilliant idea! You stifle access and everyone loses in our economy. I say, come on give us a break once and awhile, let us enjoy this little tax freedom we have on access. Right now there is a ban on access taxes at the state level, however it is temporary and set to expire November 1. Now, let's get started on the discussion of internet sales tax. We all know that each state pretty much has a different taxing structure. Already internet businesses have to program tax data on state and local levels to collect taxes properly on the internet for sales that occur within state boundaries. What tax will be enforced when a sale is made outside of the state? What will the rate be, who will set the rate? Which area of local government? Does it depend on whether you live in San Antonio, Austin, or Uvalde? Is this going to be streamlined? Who will disseminate the tax? What will the penalties be because of ignorance? What will be taxable in one state? Will an attorney or accountant have to be called in every time someone wants to open an online business? There is no end to the questions or the confusion. And who will suffer the most? The answer is everyone from government, to business, to consumer. I believe much of the money made on the internet is reinvested into our local communities. This helps everyone. More business will only help our economy and local governments prosper. The small mom and pop retailers can compete with the larger retailers by selling online. The main street or downtown retailer can find another sales channel. Marketing efforts don't have to be limited to local channels. Do we really want to stifle this kind of competition? I am fine with paying Cesar. I don t have issue with taxes in general because we know it is what greases the wheels. But enough is enough. Where does the break come for the people, where is our turn to prosper. How do we rise up when almost everything we do is taxed or is close to taxation? Our government was originally planned around raw capitalism. You want to slow down the growth of emerging technologies, initiate more taxes online. The favor and support of government shifts in support of itself and not the people. This is not the American Way, Democratic, Republican, Green, Moderate, or Independent. This is not our founding fathers dream of capitalism. It is another attack, another burden placed on the consumer, and as usual the ones pushing it are our elected politicians, who happen to have deep pockets already. Funny situation isn't it. Let's remember that elected part. Contact your elected officials if you want things to remain as they are. Otherwise... * * * CYBER
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