[governance] Hmmmm... Google: "Internet Freedom!"... (from taxes?

[Milton L Mueller]

So Google and other application/content providers pay nothing for telecom infrastructures? And the Google employees who live in the countries pay no income taxes, no VAT,? And the offices they own pay no rent or no property taxes? I suggest that you think more before you write such things.

(And since when were telecom infrastructures supported by taxes? Have you entered the 21st century yet, or are you still in the 19th century system of state-owned PTTs?)

The discussion is not about whether anyone should ever pay any taxes. The discussion is about your assumption that all taxes are good, and no taxation is ever too much.

It is similar to the stupid conversations we have about the military budget (or school budgets) in the U.S. If you challenge the size of the military budget a host of rightwing nationalists will start screaming about how dangerous the world is and how important national security is. But they do not tell us why are no safer now than we were when the budget was 1/10th of its current size. If you challenge the size of school spending, teachers unions will start screaming about how vital education is. But they will not say anything about the frequent lack of correlation between spending and improved education.

From: governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org [mailto:governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org] On Behalf Of Dominique Lacroix
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2012 2:24 PM
To: governance at lists.igcaucus.org
Subject: Re: [governance] Hmmmm... Google: "Internet Freedom!"... (from taxes?


Le 03/12/12 15:36, Milton L Mueller a écrit :
Suresh, I think the debates are related. Now it is not just ETNO and the old telecom incumbents who want to grab a share of the new wealth being generated by over the top internet services, it's national governments as well.


The wealth created by the Internet companies that do not pay taxes is a catch, the result of cuckoo economy models.

They do not pay neither for telecom infrastructures, nor for others: roads, schools, justice, military, police, customs, safety organizations: everything that enable firms to develop their business and do commerce in peace.
So what is new here? Governments want to tax whatever they can for their own (political) self-interest, while businesses (and most citizens) want to reduce their taxes as much as possible.



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