Monday, August 17, 2015

Taxing the Cloud

Chicago, Chicago, that taxing town. Bet your bottom dollar.....  If you enjoy Pandora, Netflix, or anything else that requires streaming online or cloud service, get ready to pay more money in the Windy City.  NPR reported:

You wouldn't expect to pay a local tax when you stream a movie on Netflix, but Chicago has decided that such cloud-based services should be taxed just like tickets for live entertainment.

There was no debate or public hearing over the city's "cloud tax" — a 9 percent tax on streaming entertainment like Netflix and Spotify.

The city says that's because the tax isn't new and is actually a clarification — not an expansion of two taxes that have long been in effect. One is called the Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax, and the other is the Amusement Tax, which has traditionally been tacked onto tickets for concerts and sporting events.

But now just about everybody who pays to stream a video or television show will have to pay more.

Netflix reportedly plans to pass the tax the city will apply to cloud based services along to customers...

Facebook is not in the mix, but this tax will apply to paid subscriptions for streamed entertainment like TV shows, movies and digital music, and to so-called cloud-based services like the Multiple Listing Service that Realtors use. Brian Bernardoni with the Chicago Association of Realtors says that has raised lots of concern in his industry....

The tax is expected to add about $12 million in revenue to a city struggling to fill a deep budget hole. Michael Reever with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce says Chicago has held the line on property and sales taxes, but putting a tax on cloud-based computer services is a nickel-and-dime approach.....

In a statement, the city says its ruling brings companies using new technology in line with brick-and-mortar businesses. The city also promised exemptions for tech startups based on their revenue.

Bernardoni says regardless, there are plenty of people bothered by Chicago's approach.

"Tax policy is one of those things that not only people in the city of Chicago look at, but people across the country look at," he says. "And when we add new taxes, we add another cloud around the city saying this is not a good place to do business."

The cloud tax, already in effect, may have caught some off guard. But the high tech industry is already considering a legal challenge to Chicago's tax on streaming and database services. Rest of article.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

People have gotten used to the internet's being a free lunch. It wasn't going to last.

Anonymous said...

@9:18 - There is nothing free about using the internet. First, you have to have ACCESS to it. This can be obtained only by subscribing to some cable company or AT&T, etc....for which you pay a fee...that is TAXED. Then, actually use the data available via the internet, you have to pay for it. Either you buy MP3s outright or you subscribe to Pandora, etc....and you pay a fee...that is TAXED. ALL of those companies who distribute data or sell products via the internet have brick & mortar buildings SOMEWHERE...and they pay their business taxes there just like any other brick & mortar business does. Chicago is taxing its citizens for buying their mp3s from someone who is does not have a building in Chicago. That would be like a Jackson resident going to Dogwood or Renaissance to buy a shirt then being stopped at a road block on the way back into town so the city can asses a tax on his purchase.

Anonymous said...

That would be like a Jackson resident going to Dogwood or Renaissance to buy a shirt then being stopped at a road block on the way back into town so the city can asses a tax on his purchase.

Don't give them any ideas.

Anonymous said...

2:01, if you're (1) in Chicago and (2) engaging in commerce with somebody, then that transaction is taxable by Chicago.

People who don't like it, can move.

As this easy-money revenue source becomes more popular, however, I suspect we'll have to have the feds regulating who can tax, etc. - or we might see state, county, municipality taxes ...

Anonymous said...

I am so sick of people saying, "if you don't like it then move," as if quitting one's job, selling one's house, uprooting one's family, leaving one's friends and relatives, determining a new location, and finding a new job, house, school, etc. in the new city is a piece of cake.

It's precisely because moving is such a cumbersome process that municipalities like the Peoples' Republic of Chicago pull crap like this.

Anonymous said...

^^^^this

Anonymous said...

Yes, the tree of liberty must from time to time be watered with the blood of U-Haul invoices.


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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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