With CES just around the corner, there is a lot of speculation about Internet TV. The idea is there, but it just hasn’t completely taken off. A big part of the reason why could be because companies such as Google and Apple have had some challenges with their initial offerings.
However, this year, these companies and others hope to change this slightly negative perception of Internet TV. Up to this point, the most popular forms of Internet TV have been through dedicated Internet video boxes including Roku, Boxee, and Apple TV. But, 2012 is expected to bring numerous offerings of TV sets with built-in Internet connectivity.
The big question is – if this does happen, will consumers buy into these connected TVs? Also, and again depending on if the TVs take off, what will it mean for Internet video boxes?
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jan 6th, 2012. 
Although the debate around states taxing Internet and catalog sales has gone on for years, it has reached a new level of interest recently due largely to incidents involving online retailing giant Amazon. In addition, new laws have been proposed in both the Senate and the House in regards to these issues.
However, Adam Thierer, a senior research fellow with the Technology Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, doesn’t think that either of these bills offers an effective solution to the problem. He told WebProNews that these laws would essentially give states the authority to create a system for collecting Internet sales taxes, which he thinks would tax everyone at a higher level.
He co-wrote a paper with Veronique de Rugy and introduced 3 different approaches to the problem. The first option abolishes sales taxes completely. The second would implement a nationwide sales tax that would give states a certain portion of the income. While both of these serve as options, Thierer doesn’t favor either one.
Instead, he is pushing an “origin-based sourcing rule” that would tax consumers at the origin of sale and not where the destination takes place, which is the approach that the states are taking. Thierer told us that this method would help to increase tax competition between states, eliminate constitutional tax headaches, and keep interstate vendors from having to deal with complex tax systems.
Do you think this sounds like an effective plan?
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Oct 29th, 2011.
Although the debate around states taxing Internet and catalog sales has gone on for years, it has reached a new level of interest recently due largely to incidents involving online retailing giant Amazon. In addition, new laws have been proposed in both the Senate and the House in regards to these issues.
However, Adam Thierer, a senior research fellow with the Technology Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, doesn’t think that either of these bills offers an effective solution to the problem. He told WebProNews that these laws would essentially give states the authority to create a system for collecting Internet sales taxes, which he thinks would tax everyone at a higher level.
He co-wrote a paper with Veronique de Rugy and introduced 3 different approaches to the problem. The first option abolishes sales taxes completely. The second would implement a nationwide sales tax that would give states a certain portion of the income. While both of these serve as options, Thierer doesn’t favor either one.
Instead, he is pushing an “origin-based sourcing rule” that would tax consumers at the origin of sale and not where the destination takes place, which is the approach that the states are taking. Thierer told us that this method would help to increase tax competition between states, eliminate constitutional tax headaches, and keep interstate vendors from having to deal with complex tax systems.
Do you think this sounds like an effective plan?
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Oct 21st, 2011.
On Friday, a new California state law goes into effect that will tax Internet sales through affiliate advertising. Rather than pay such taxes, online retailers like Amazon will instead shut down their affiliate programs in the state. For Amazon, that …
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jun 30th, 2011.
Social networks can breathe a sigh of relief since the Social Networking Privacy Act was shot down in the state of California. The bill, backed by State Senator Ellen Corbett, would have forced online companies such as Facebook, eHarmony, and Google, to make their user settings private by default.
WebProNews spoke with Tammy Cota, the executive director for the Internet Alliance, who explained to us that this type of bill could harm these companies so much that it could even put them out of business. Although it didn’t go through, she expects an amended version to be proposed at some point.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jun 17th, 2011.
