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Massachusetts Set To Repeal Controversial IT Services Tax
Nerval's Lobster writes "Massachusetts lawmakers have agreed to repeal a six-week-old tax on computer services that generated such outrage that even the governor who proposed the tax in January now opposes it. The 6.25 percent sales tax on 'computer system design services' was proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick in January, but got little notice before it was slipped in mid-July into a $500 million supplementary funding bill meant to pay for improvements in the state's public transportation system. It was passed by the legislature with almost no debate, was signed into law by the governor with little public outrage, and went into effect – theoretically – July 31. IT businesses in the state used social media, business associations and angry letters to both lawmakers and local media to describe problems with the tax and show their opposition. Confusion over what qualifies as a 'computer system design service' and how to actually implement the tax – which was supposed to generate $161 million in revenue for the state – has been such a challenge to implement that the state has yet to collect a dime. The main logistical problem is figuring out what is covered and what isn't: data access, data processing and 'information services,' for example, are not taxed, which exempts most hosting, cloud, outsourcing and remote-access monitoring or security services. Democratic leaders announced Sept. 12 they would support repeal of the tax, which could be completed within weeks. 'It is now evident that the impact of the tax is broader than any of us ever anticipated or intended,' according to Mass. Senate President Therese Murray at a press conference Sept. 12."
"Idiots make laws they know nothing about, without doing any research into the possible consequences. Film at 11."
"So after all this, you make my case for me. To end this stalemate, you must die..."
Well at least they're smart enough to try and repeal it. It takes one kind of fool to get involved with a stupid thing. It takes another kind of fool to not change course when it is evident they made a horrible mistake.
God spoke to me
I swear, the way laws get passed in this country is like pushing any commit from a developer straight into production based on its commit message, without even a code review process.
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
They imposed a sales tax on "computer services" that created such outrage, it was repealed before it even went into effect.
"Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
It says Massachusetts is going to repeal a tax but we all know that can't possibly be right. ;-)
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
I am curious how they can come up with estimate of how much the tax would generate, while also not having a clearly defined scope of what the tax would cover.
It'd be like someone saying they want to buy a car, and me saying it'll cost $20k. The term "car" covers a wide, wide range of possible options, and to give an ballpark figure would be nigh impossible with any accuracy unless I knew the specifics.
Believe me, we were all in shock over this. You cannot create something in this state without the government hanging a tax on it. And, once that tax is in place and the bureaucracy suckling on the tax teat it is established, it's a permanent fixture. You'll never see a bureaucracy go away. Years ago, after returning home from a five-year stint in California, to my surprise, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts sent me an "excise tax" bill on my beat up car; the tax is, in fact, an ad valorem tax (based on the value of the car). I called my mom to ask what the heck it was and she simply stated: "Yeah, they tax driving in Massachusetts. Is it any wonder the Bay State got the moniker: Taxachusetts?