Imagine someone sitting at the airport terminal in Seattle, Washington, waiting for a flight home to Ohio. Boredom has set in, as she waits for her flight to board, and she wants something to do. So she scans through the app store on her mobile device, finds a game that happens to be located on a server in Utah and purchases it. When she is back in Ohio and opens up her mobile billing statement, she could find a sales tax remittance for not just her home state of Ohio, but also from Utah and Washington. In fact, if the company that developed the app was based in yet another state that taxes digital goods, she could potentially be subject to up to four separate taxes on a single purchase.
Tossing a Broken Lifeline to Subsidize Broadband
In 2014, approximately $8.5 billion was collected in Universal Service Fund (USF) fees from consumers as a tax on their communications services. The four main USF programs are the Low-Income support services, which includes the Lifeline and Link-Up programs; the High-Cost program; the E-Rate Library and Schools program; and the Rural Health program. While there are many questions and concerns about all of these programs, the Lifeline program, which was established in 1985 to provide subsidized telephone services to low-income households, has perhaps the most sordid history of waste, fraud and abuse.
Finish Fixing Lifeline, Before Considering Expanding
In 2014, the Universal Service Fund (USF) collected approximately $8.5 billion to support telecommunications programs that include the Low Income support services, Lifeline and Link-Up programs; the High-Cost program; the Library and Schools program; and the Rural Health program. The funding for the USF is found in the charges on consumer’s communications bills as a […]
The Need for More Spectrum Auctions
A May 11, 2015 report from the Brattle Group estimates the value of the 645.5 MHz of licensed spectrum currently in use at almost $500 billion. Beyond the monetary value of this spectrum are the services provided to consumers using licensed spectrum through their mobile devices. According to the report, economists have estimated that the […]
Focusing on Music Copyright for World IP Day
On April 26, 2015, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) marked World Intellectual Property Day. The theme was “Get Up, Stand Up. For Music,” which was intended to highlight the contributions of musical artists around the world and encourage the protection of their intellectual property (IP). Artists and musicians combat piracy and copyright infringement on a daily basis, while they also struggle to be adequately compensated for their work.
Providing Relief from Internet Taxes
On July 15, 2014, the House of Representatives passed the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, which would have made the moratorium on taxes for Internet access permanent. Unfortunately, because of legislative wrangling in the Senate, the bill failed to become law.
Time to Reform FCC’s Designated Entity Program
There is a problem when a large business is able to use a federal program designed to help small and minority-owned businesses in order to obtain discounts from the government.
Intellectual Property Is Personal
On February 26, 2015, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) held a briefing on Capitol Hill to discuss intellectual property (IP) rights, including copyrights, patents, brand recognition and trademarks.
Plain Packaging Spreads to Ireland
Following Australia’s 2012 foray into plain packaging, the Irish Senate adopted a resolution to restrict the use of corporate logos and trademarks on cigarette packaging on March 3, 2015.
Capital Investments Don’t Happen Overnight Mr. Wheeler
On February 26, 2015, the three Democratic commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made a monumental decision to regulate the Internet under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. In other words, they thought it was a good idea to apply an 80 year-old statute intended to regulate the monopoly Bell telephone system […]