Calif. Panel Explores Satellite TV Tax

[Mark Holtz]

From Yahoo/AP:

Calif. Panel Explores Satellite TV Tax

Satellite television companies are rallying to stop a move to add an 8 percent tax on their services — even before the proposal makes its way to the state Legislature.

A commission looking into tax policy is considering a handful of recommendations, including the tax on satellite television, as a means to raise revenue for the cash-strapped state. A proposal to add a 5 percent tax on satellite customers failed in the Legislature last year.

Full article here (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=494&ncid=494&e=7&u=/ap/20030522/ap_en_tv/satellite_tv_tax)

[Lyle_JP]

Unbelieveable. This commision is called the "California Commission on Tax Policy in the New Economy". I had never heard of them, and it's no wonder, when I read this:

The commission's chairman, Bill Rosendahl, is an executive with Adelphia Communications Corp., the nation's fifth-largest cable TV operators. Rosendahl said he sees no conflict in raising the satellite TV tax issue.

He estimates the tax could raise as much as $170 million a year for the state.

This "commision" is just a shill for the cable companies!!!! What's really sad is, the Democrats in this state will look right past that. After all, a new tax is a new tax, so it can't be all bad.

[Lyle_JP]

Well, I guess I was too harsh. Upon further research, I see this commission is legit, created by Gov. Davis in the heyday of the dot com boom to find ways to tax the internet. It's kind of fun to look at the other members of the commission. They include a top executive at Warner Bros and the head of the California Retailers Association. So there you have it: cable companies, movie studios, and brick and mortar retailers all on a commission to find ways to tax the internet. I guess "conflict of interest" is normal operating procedure in Sacramento.

But now that the dot com bust has happened, this commission is like any other obselete government agency; it's trying to find other ways to justify its existence. I've got an idea: If the state is strapped for cash, the first thing we should do is disband tax-payer funded commissions which are investigating a "New Economy" that doesn't exist anymore!