UPDATED: Is Tennessee Considering Taxing Your Downloads?
Editors note: The Department of Revenue now states certain digital products have been taxed since January 1, 2008. I-tunes users probably notice their $.99 download actually costs $1.08. The information from the Republican part was pulled from a Bredesen administration "draft" version of a technical corrections bill, which is used to close loopholes in business taxes.
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Tennessee Republicans are raising the alarm about a new tax proposal they say the Bredesen administration is formulating.
They say the Department of Revenue is considering a Digital Procuts/iPOD Tax.
An analysis by a Nashville law firm claims that it would make digital purchases of movies, music, news and entertainment programs, ringtones, and electronic books subject to the retail sales tax.
The state is now facing a $500 Million dollar budget deficit.
And the growth of internet purchases has long been a problem for a state dependent on the Sales Tax.
A Digital Products/iPOD tax has not been formally submitted to lawmakers yet.
Still, the Tennessee Republican Party is urging voters to speak out on the possible tax.
Communications director Bill Hobbs say "Most states do not tax digitally-deliverd products. Tennessee shouldn't either and state government's current fiscal crisis should not be used by the Bredesen administration as an excuse to hit the people of Tennessee with a new tax that could cost them tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars."
So, what is the next step
So, what is the next step then? $500M has to be raised somewhere. Maybe everyone would rather there be an income tax, or an increase in property taxes again.
TN Digital Tax
No, $500 million DO NOT have to be raised, at all. If the state is not taking in enough money to cover it's desires, it should do what I do, stop spending!
By definition, Tennessee's sales tax is indexed to inflation and the state's economy. It generates revenue based on what the population can afford. If the tax revenue drops, the state's spending should drop the same amount.
While I support and applaud our state's efforts to keep the federal government out of the state, TennCare is an unjustified monster. It's budget is $2.7 BILLIOn!!! Cut the $500 million from that (or more) and get it back to the minimums required by the feds for Medicare.
I'm just sick to death of taxes and even sicker of governments that force me to support every deadbeat that won't work and keeps having babies to get a "raise"!
sate income tax is not the
sate income tax is not the answer,just look at ga,
they have it and it still lacks money
what if they tried(just like the genral public) to manage the money they do have or cut spending.
why does the word new tax come up every time the state goverments spend more money then they have?
$500M does not have to be
$500M does not have to be raised anywhere! Your problem is that you think government spending either needs to stay constant or grow. I have no problem with government spending within its means. When hard economic times come we should cut back in our spending, not try to figure out how we can keep spending at the current rate. It is your line of thinking that causes families to pull out their credit cards when times get rough. Instead it should be a time to cut fat and trim up.
very sound advice
very sound advice
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ALREADY FEELS LIKE WE ARE BEING TAXED TO DEATH.
ALREADY FEELS LIKE WE ARE BEING TAXED TO DEATH. YOU BRING UP GOOD POINTS WHEN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DOESN'T KNOW THE TERM BUDGET, AND MOST LIVE BETTER THAN HARD WORKING AMERICANS.... CONGRESS AND GOV OFFICIALS ARE NOT HARD WORKING. THEY SIT AND THINK UP WAYS TO NICKEL AND DIME THE PEOPLE TO DEATH. WASN'T THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE BOSTON TEA PARTY AND OUR LEGAL SEPERATION FROM ENGLAND?