"Telecommunications and the Tangle of Taxes".

• Position: Brief Article

Mackey, Scott

State Legislatures, February 2000, pp. 23-25.

Electronic commerce depends upon telecommunications networks. But state and local tax policy has not kept up with the continuing changes in telecommunications technology. Tax policies are complex, and as more services are added, the tax structure must be continually modified. Telecommunications companies often find it difficult, if not impossible, to determine the correct tax to collect for each jurisdiction. Even though the support for technological progress is evident by state and local governments, they adhere to a traditional tax structure that complicates revenue collection. In 1997, members from government and industry asked the state of Florida to form a statewide "unified tax," but local governments opposed the idea. Localities often fear losses in school...