Yeaahhh, the tax LAN.
Now that every lover of the Beatles has run screaming for the hills, I’ll report that the state of Florida wants to tax LANs.
You see, waay back in 1985 only super-rich fatcat corporations and their toady bootlicks had “multi-user computer networks.” Those proto intra-nets looked an awful lot like traditional telephone networks, and we all know that the state, ahem, the State, must receive a little tribute in exchange for letting them operate freely. It is a public good and good for the public.
Trouble is, corporations are fleeing the old heavily taxed and regulated phone system in favor of cheaper and more efficient Net-based phone and communications systems. To the states and localities who have no way to tax the new systems, reaching back to the 1985 law is great way to grab some revenue.
Business lobbyists in Florida say the “new” tax could raise $1 billion. Needless to say, they vow to stop it.
It is battle that, with some variations, will soon be played out across the country.
