No Regulation Without Representation
In mid-July, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner unexpectedly introduced the “No Regulation Without Representation Act of 2016,” a proposal that would codify the physical presence, or “nexus,” requirement established by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Quill decision. The Supreme...
The Internet of (No)Thing
If Washington has its way, the “Internet of Things” won’t be much more than a sprawling, tax-collecting, expansive, government-spying operation. The Internet of Things (IOT) is a shorthand reference for physical objects connected via a network which thereby gain some...
The Creeping Tentacles of Unrestrained Regulation
“Mission creep” as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “the gradual broadening of the original objectives of a mission or organization.” Mission creep as practiced by the Federal Communications Commission is wholesale bootstrapping to create any authority to...
Playing Politics With Internet Taxes
Lost in the news about how Congress avoided a government shutodown until December 11 by passing a short-tem funding extension was that the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) was extended for the same duration, continuing the long-standing moratorium on Internet taxes....
The Clouded Judgment of Tax Authorities
The greed of tax authorities seems limitless. Revenue agencies will often seek to extend taxes well beyond what was contemplated when legislation was enacted, in the name of securing ever more money for government. Some even go so far as to extend taxes to services...
Congress Must Update ECPA to Protect Fundamental Rights
If the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States were being drafted today, James Madison, and George Mason before him, would likely not have used the word “papers” to describe various types of personal communications protected from unreasonable and...
The Federal Government Wants Even More of Your Personal Information
Over the last several weeks Congress has been trying to construct a highway spending bill. The House has passed a short-term measure to guarantee continued funding. Meanwhile in the Senate, a different solution is being crafted. Reports indicate that the Senate has...
The Tangled Web Woven
Not long ago, the technology industry kept Washington, DC, at arms-length, believing that the industry simply needed to keep innovating, and that Washington simply needed to stay out of the way. Books were written and congressional testimony given that repeated the...
Digital Discrimination
As Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, “… in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Technology has had an impact on both, providing us with longer life expectancies and a better quality of life, while tax authorities find technology too...
Bartlett D. Cleland is a research fellow with the Institute for Policy Innovation, and writes for the Grassroot Institute.