While very little gets done in Washington during an election year, deadlines must be acknowledged and addressed, such as the expiration of the Internet tax moratorium on November 1, 2014. Two days prior to that critical date, a lesser-known but nonetheless important matter is scheduled to come to an end. On October 30, 2014, the Free File Alliance’s partnership with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is up for renewal. The Free File Alliance is a consortium of tax software companies which makes free tax preparation software and free e-file available to certain taxpayers.
The Clock is ticking on Internet Taxation
Less than six months from now, citizens across the country could face new taxes. That is when the moratorium banning taxes on Internet access and discriminatory duplicate taxes on Internet services expires. While legislation to make the moratorium permanent has been introduced with bi-partisan support, the clock is ticking leading up to the November 1, […]
IRS Should Not Create Software That Already Exists
While very little gets done in Washington during an election year, deadlines must be acknowledged and addressed, such as the expiration of the Internet tax moratorium on November 1, 2014. Two days prior to that critical date, a lesser-known but nonetheless important matter is scheduled to come to an end. On October 30, 2014, the […]
World Intellectual Property Day Is April 26
World Intellectual Property Day is April 26, 2014. Set aside by the international community in 2000, as a day to increase and promote a general understanding of intellectual property (IP), this event is recognized worldwide at numerous events. Among those events this year was the 2014 IP Champions Conference, held on April 23, 2014 by the […]
Times Have Changed
Once there was a time when 30-page college papers were typed on portable electric typewriters, research was done in library stacks, and job applications were filled out by hand. Taxes were filed on paper and mailed (postmarked no later than April 15th) at the local post office, and shopping meant going to the local market […]
Don’t Expand Government Broadband
On March 18, 2014, I had the opportunity to attend the Free State Foundation’s Sixth Annual Telecom Policy Conference. Keynoted by Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, former acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Federal Trade Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, the conference covered the continued need for spectrum, broadband deployment in the U.S., the use of TV whitespaces for wireless use, and updating the Communications Act of 1934.
Court Rules on Net Neutrality
In 2005, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Broadband Policy Statement to define the principles of an “open Internet” in response to claims that Internet service providers were unfairly restricting access to content. The FCC stated that an individual should have an unrestricted ability to access lawful Internet content, run applications and use desired services and connect legal devices to the network. The statement also called for competition among network providers, application and service providers as well as content providers.
ARC Gets Earmark Boost
Those pork-barrel spenders are at it again. This time, they increased the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget request for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) by 23 percent, from $64.6 million to $80 million, in H.R. 3547, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was signed into law on January 17, 2014.
Cloud First: Three Years Later
In December 2010, the Obama administration announced its 25-Point Plan to reform federal information technology (IT) management (the 25-Point Plan). As part of the plan, agencies were to implement a “cloud first” strategy when purchasing new IT systems and programs. At the time, there was much head-scratching about how this new policy would be implemented, and whether or not it would save taxpayer dollars and streamline federal IT programs.
Eighteen Years and Counting
On February 8, 2014, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 will turn eighteen years old. For most eighteen year-olds this is a major milestone in life. Gaining a sense of maturity; showing that one is ready to face the world. You even get to vote. However, for a law that regulates an innovative and stunningly evolving […]