News
California looks to tax iTunes, other downloads
By Jeremy Horwitz
Editor-in-Chief, iLoungeGoogle+
Published: Monday, March 17, 2008
News Categories: iTunes
Mirroring efforts by a number of other states, including New York, legislators in California hope to apply sales taxes to iTunes and other digital downloads, according to the Orange County Register. The tax would result in the price of a 99-cent song going up to $1.07 or more for California purchasers, while more expensive downloads would also increase by roughly 8 cents on the dollar. Digital downloads from Apple and other companies would all be subject to the tax requirement. However, the report notes that the legality of California’s proposed “iTax” has come into question, as Assemblyman Charles Calderon of Whittier is attempting to use an unconventional and likely illegal voting strategy to get it passed, circumventing the state’s requirement that two-thirds of the legislature approve of any new tax. Consequently, should Calderon’s bill be voted into law, it will likely face immediate enforcement and other legal challenges.
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1
These guys just cannot stand to see all that money exchanged and them not getting any of it (they actually think a portion of it is rightfully theirs). What a bunch of baloney…
Posted by RNB in Bakersfield, CA on March 17, 2008 at 8:20 AM (PST)
2
I live in dallas texas and when i download a song off of itunes it charges the credit card $1.07 and has as long as i can remember. Don’t see why this i a big deal??
Posted by BIGP in Texas on March 17, 2008 at 8:25 AM (PST)
3
i could write a book on how everyone tries to get money from everyone else!
Posted by theidoctor.org on March 17, 2008 at 8:43 AM (PST)
4
Who else but the Democrats would like to tax EVERYTHING?
Posted by Ind in CA on March 17, 2008 at 8:59 AM (PST)
5
I too live in Dallas, and I have been receiving these taxes ever since I started using iTunes
Posted by Shane in Texas on March 17, 2008 at 9:03 AM (PST)
6
I can understand sales tax on physically delivered goods like TVs and DVDs, but shouldn’t there be no tax on internet related downloads? I thought that was the whole point of Congress passing the Internet Tax Freedom Act…
Posted by Abbi Vakil on March 17, 2008 at 9:10 AM (PST)
7
That’s the biggest FUD of all - the Republicans constantly trying to characterize the Democrats as “tax and spend liberals”. Not to turn this into a political forum, but just because this happens to be a Dem. doesn’t mean that all Dems want to tax everything. Besides, I’d rather pay slightly higher taxes on a much higher income (because the economy hasn’t tanked) than get a three hundred dollar check from a government that has destroyed the economy. Plus, remember Bush senior, a republican, was the last president to raise taxes (even after he told us to read his lips), and Clinton, the last Dem president lowered taxes AND improved the economy.
Again, not trying to turn this into a political forum, just felt someone should respond to the FUD.
Posted by urbanslaughter on March 17, 2008 at 11:19 AM (PST)
8
Well said, urban…, Well said…
Posted by Hatman on March 17, 2008 at 11:53 AM (PST)
9
BIGP, would you have a problem with a Texas lawmaker raising your iTunes downloads to $1.15? I think you might. Taxing iTunes in California is political fundraising and nothing more.
This (illegal) attempt to tax iTunes only serves as another example of the Dem’s addiction to tax and spend…while being inserted into a tax-free zone. And, urbanslaughter, as Bill Clinton was leaving office, the economy was tanking — just to be accurate.
Posted by RNB in Bakersfield, CA on March 17, 2008 at 12:08 PM (PST)
10
we can safely hate politicians in general for taxing. there is no ‘small government’ party anymore, no Goldwater conservative in the bunch.
Posted by OnlyShawn on March 17, 2008 at 1:27 PM (PST)
11
The fact that a Democrat is attempting to do this doesn’t bother me, there are already excise taxes and utility taxes that the ISPs have to pay that are already tacked onto the cost of internet access. If they are going to do this, they’d better treat all interstate commerce the same, and charge sales tax for items you order from a website and are shipped via a common carrier.
Posted by thejoker on March 17, 2008 at 2:04 PM (PST)
12
my problem wouldn’t be that they’re trying to tax iTunes its that they’re trying to get this legislation passes in an illegal way. You guys in Texas can pay whatever u want but I wish the Virginia legislature would try this. The younger voters in this state would hit the roof.
Posted by travis on March 17, 2008 at 4:25 PM (PST)
13
Whoa, not just Democrats tax. These people in TX are already paying these taxes and they are a huge republican state…
Posted by EASYxTARGET on March 17, 2008 at 5:09 PM (PST)
14
Just another case of the (Tax) Man trying to keep us down!
Posted by Tenchi211 in California on March 17, 2008 at 7:14 PM (PST)
15
yeah man, I live in Austin and like the other texas folk, I’ve been paying taxes on my iTunes purchases since the beginnging of time… =/
Posted by bwa on March 18, 2008 at 3:18 AM (PST)
16
You guys in Texas pay state income taxes? No, then how else are all you cowboys going to pay for your state up keep?
Posted by a3rdleg on March 19, 2008 at 7:26 AM (PST)
17
urbanslaughter
I have to call you out. Clinton raised taxes in 94. The great economy we had during his presidency actually started months before he took office as a result of Regan’s tax breaks. tax breaks take ~10 years before they show a real effect. Our economy started to tank around 2000 because of Clinton’s tax increases.
As far as the Tax and spend party, it used to be that was the Dems exclusively but lately the Republicans have seemed to do the same.
Posted by hydra-calm on March 19, 2008 at 8:25 AM (PST)