Sell My Timeshare NOW’s Warning About the Real Threat of the Internet Tax
Author: Jason Tremblay
Sometimes I have trouble understanding the way lawmakers think.
Let’s see, 10 years ago, less than 40 percent of Americans had internet access, and most of that was dial-up. Today we are a nation with incredible connectivity. The internet has enabled us to connect and communicate whether we live in small towns, big cities, or the most isolated mountain retreat. We can interact instantaneously with other people via the Internet and it makes no difference whether we are seated behind a corporate desk, in a wheelchair, or at the kitchen table. News, medical information, family updates, financial services—it’s all at our fingertips.
So why do some lawmakers in the US think it makes sense to levy taxes on the most powerful communication tool ever conceived, in a move that is guaranteed to make the Internet inaccessible to many?
What the Internet Tax Means To You
For several months, Sell My Timeshare NOW has been trying to educate consumers about the real issues of the internet tax moratorium. Americans don’t need lawmakers just to extend the internet tax ban; we need them to make it permanent.
In 1998, the Internet tax Freedom Act was passed. Two years ago, when it was due to expire, President Bush signed an extension to keep it in place. Now we face expiration of the moratorium once again, with lawmakers divided over whether to extend the ban, make it permanent, or abolish it.
Allowing the moratorium on internet taxation to expire means that consumers face taxes levied on accessing the internet, whether they are checking sports scores, sending e-mail, looking up movie schedules, or they want to buy, rent, or sell timeshare. But this tax packs a double whammy. We also face new taxes on internet purchases. One source identifies that there are 7,600 separate state and local entities that could levy taxes on both internet access and on goods and services sold via the internet. And there will be no escape–these taxes will apply whether you connect to the internet by telephone line, cable modem, or wireless, like a BlackBerry.
Sell My Timeshare NOW and the Internet Tax
When you use Sell My Timeshare NOW’s online advertising services, you are making a by-owner transaction to sell timeshare you no longer use or can no longer afford. But just imagine what will happen to this type of person-to-person direct commerce if there is internet taxation on both the company that provides the service and the individual consumers who access it via the internet.
The connectivity of the World Wide Web has help small business people and entrepreneurs build and grow businesses like ours at Sell My Timeshare NOW. When people want to sell timeshare or rent timeshare, widespread internet access enables us to advertise and market vacation property to a marketplace that is not limited to the consumers who walk by our storefront here in Dover, New Hampshire. We can help you sell timeshare no matter where you are in the world, advertising it to a global market of people who are interested in becoming timeshare owners. Instead of hoping that potential timeshare buyers show up at our door, internet marketing allows us to target your message to people who want to buy timeshare or enjoy a timeshare rental.
We’ve Come a Long Way
In 1943 the Chairman of IBM said, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” A 1949 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine attempted to educate its readers about the new technology of computers and explained, “Computers in the future may weigh no more than one and a half tons.”
By 1968, we were getting more comfortable with computers, and the engineers in the Advanced Computing Systems Divisions of IBM, were quoted as having developed the microchip, and then publically say, “…but what is it good for?” And in 1977, Ken Olson, president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, assured reporters in a press conference, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
People-even highly educated people in the computer industry —haven’t always grasped the vision of what computers and digital connectivity can mean to our future. Despite the fact that none of us can truly predict the opportunities computer technology will create in our lives, let’s don’t let lawmakers open the door for what could turn out to be taxes on top of taxes on our internet access and online business.
You can read Sell My Timeshare Now’s most recent press release on internet taxation here.
This You-Tube video from Senator Mitch McConnell supports a permanent internet tax ban. While the video implies that this is a partisan issue, there is strong support by both political parties for this measure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjD7GiIYYwQ
Topics: Sell My Timeshare
2 Comments so far
1.
Fred
October 25th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Great post! I can’t figure out how it would even be considered a good idea to tax the internet. This is an example of why I will probably be voting for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul in the next election. Since he is practically a Libertarian, I doubt he would let such a nonsensical tax like this to pass. Thanks again for the great information!
2.
Erik
October 26th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Jason - Horrible post. Either you do not understand the issue or you are just trying to create sensationalized mass hysteria through the media. You DO NOT conduct financial transactions online (i.e. accept online payments), therefore you are wrong in suggesting that you would be hit with a tax on the sale of timeshares. Also, what sort of tax do you think could be levied on a $20 per month Internet access? You make it sound as if it could be a $100 when you say that it could be high enough that people could not afford it. Lastly, do not forget that online purchases already are taxed if you live in and purchase from an online store that is in a state that has a sales tax on that product - like California and almost every single state. I agree with you that we should not have a federal tax on Internet usage, and we should not have a Federal sales tax on Internet sales, but most of your article is just plain silly and wrong.