The federal government is advancing legislation that would prohibit states from imposing any new, discriminatory taxes of wireless devices.

Recent studies show that the average rate of federal, state and local taxes and fees imposed upon wireless services is 16.3%.  An average of 7.4% tax rate is imposed upon other goods and services.  Increasingly, mobile devices are being used by consumers as their sole means of access to the internet.  A strong national policy consensus will encourage deployment and adoption of wireless broadband services. Excess, discriminatory wireless taxes run directly counter to that goal.

Wireless services are poised to significantly expand the reach of broadband and increase consumer adoption.  Therefore, the PA eCommerce Association (www.paecomm.org) supports H.R. 1002 and S. 543, the "Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011."

Cyber tax.  Some states consider cyber transactions tax free.  Others aggressively pursue its collection during this economic downturn.  eCommerce businesses many times are not aware of their responsibility, especially remote sellers.

To address this issue, a bipartisan group of senators - five Democrats and five Republicans - introduced federal legislation, The Marketplace Fairness Act.  It's estimated that this Act would enable state and local governments to collect about $23 billion in tax revenue from online or remote-seller sales. 

The issue of when an online business should collect sales tax revolves around the business' physical presence, or nexus.  In 1992, the SUpreme Court prohibited states from collecting sales tax unless the retailer had a physical presence in the state.  It specifically exempted most online sales in order to foster the growth of the internet.  States have responded by clarifying their definition of "physical presence."

The Pennsylvania eCommerce Association supports the Marketplace Fairness Act as it provides a simplified federal approach that would establish national standards for taxing items purchased online.  It would address the potential negative impact of business and job  loss in Pennsylvania by creating equal footing for all eCommerce businesses.

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue announced it's efforts to collect sales use tax on internet based sales.  Retailers have until February 1 to become licensed to collect sales tax.  (http://www.revenue.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/sales%2C_use___hotel_occupancy_tax/14487).  But that's not all.  Consumers, save those sales receipts.  You will be required to self report taxes not collected on online purchases and remit on your yearly tax return.

BFRRs - or Bona Fide Retail Requests - allows residents and businesses to petition telephone companies to deploy DSL internet service sooner than scheduled.  If you live or work in an unserved or underserved area find out more at www.paecomm.org/broadband/verizon-bfrr.pdf

North Central Pennsylvania communities in Ulysses, Galeton, Port Allegany, Smethport, St. Marys and Ridgway became involved in the program and have received or are scheduled to receive broadband soon.  Just think how the transition from dial up will help those in these communities!  Visit www.paecomm.org for more information.

North Central PA customers without broadband internet access may request DSL through a Bona Fide Retail Request program.  When the telephone companies receive requests from 25% of the lines in a CSA, the carrier has one year to deploy.  Need broadband?  Obtain your form at the PA eCommerce Association website at http://www.paecomm.org/broadband/index.html

History sniffing is in the news.  Security experts say the way browers interact with websites and record consumers internet patterns can create problems for surfers. Google Inc.'s Chrome and Apple Inc.'s Safari have automatic protections against this type of tracking. Internet Explor allows users to enable a private browsing model in order to prevent this type of data from being collected. 

AT&T Inc. along with Verizon are two companies with plans to build nationwide networks using fourth-generation technology.  LightSquared has similar plans selling access wholesale to other companies. http://www.lightsquared.com/

Similar to the National Do Not Call Registry, the FTC is proposing a "Do Not Track" tool for the internet.  http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/FTCs-Do-Not-Track-Proposal-Elicits-Strong-Reactions-72659.asp

Internet Innovation Alliance talks about the Internet as the great equalizer and enabler in today’s global, digital economy.  http://internetinnovation.org/library/fcc-national-broadband-plan

Increase conversions and sales this holiday season by through website improvements, promotions, using product recommendations, and implementing shopping cart abandonment strategies.  View this webinar at http://www.listrak.com/Webinar/forrester-sca/