Posted on 10/20/2006 2:57:58 PM PDT by TommyC1
Germany taxes the internet
The power to tax is the power to destroy. The internet has proven rather a bother to many of those with power, allowing anyone with a computer to reach a worldwide audience. Now, our friend David Kaspar, of Davidsmedienkritik, a fine site keeping track of media and events in Gemrany, brings news of Germanys plans to tax the internet.
Germanys 16 states agreed on Thursday to introduce from January 1 a licence fee of 5.52 euros (3.70
pounds) a month on computers and mobile phones that can access television and radio programmes via the Internet.
Any household or company that does not already have a licence will have to pay the new levy, which is the same as the one currently charged for radio access, state premiers agreed at a meeting in the town of Bad Pyrmont.
Finally, a bold step in the fight against Germanys high unemployment! Taxing the internet and advanced communications technology will certainly earn us the respect of all foreign nations.
And theres even more good stuff to come a 3 percent rise of the value added tax to 19 percent on January 1, 2007!
I guess Germany will serve as a shining example of tax policies gone mad in Economics 101 courses all over the world
This is what we are in for if the "fair" tax is ever enacted. Posters around here think taxes will go down. What a laugh.
With our without the 'fair' tax...our politicians at some point will also tax the internet. So what's the fair tax have to do with it?
Yeah, they'd never raise the income tax rate.....sheesh.
Germany's tax system and the "Fair Tax" being proposed here are apples and oranges.
I don't know for sure but I'll just bet you that the tax this post is talking about bears no relation whatever to the fairtax bill currently before the house ways and means committee here.
Germany's example is a tough sell. The previous post of apples to oranges could be considered an understatement.
I think we should tax Hollywood. Just because...
You need to know what you're talking about in the first place, genius. LOL!
apparently you need to educate yourself about the German Tax system. In addition to their various taxes, they also have a very high Income tax, social tax, business tax, enviromental tax, etc.
Soon they will probably tax the air they breathe.
A most important benefit in my opinion.
A value added tax and a sales tax are two different things. Anyone who thinks that taxes would go down just because of a national sales tax is a moron.
Taxes go down only with fiscal conservatives willing to cut federal spending (that chirping you hear is the absence of any fiscal conservatives in congress willing to cut spending - growth of spending cuts don't count and shouldn't be touted). The fair tax would likely increase revenues through the growth in the economy that would result from the fair tax, but it would not convince the federal government not to spend more.
The fair tax does many other good things, but it does not reduce spending.
The national sales tax plan is commonly referred to as the "fair tax." Check out fairtax.org
First, no matter what form of taxation we have, government is going to want more; that's what governments do. Second, the argument for the FairTax is not that taxes will be lower (although we will save billions in compliance costs), but that it's more, well, fair. Our current system discourages both work and savings, and encourages rent-seeking by special interest groups.
Calling Herr Goebbles...Calling Her Goebbles...Ve must get der propaganda masheen unter our knotrol shnell!
Why did you wake these guys up? The FT is not going to happen.
If government spending isn't cut then the Fair Tax is moot.
Europe is further than we are down the tax and welfare route.
I spent a fair amount of time in a beta forum that happened to include a bunch of Germans some time ago, and they all complained about how much it cost them for computer dial-up. I don't know what the broadband situation is there, now, but in general the government milks these services for everything it can get.
Kind of like algore and his internet tax on telephones charges.
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