CSE’s Internet Tax Presentation at the Telepower Conference

Erick R. Gustafson, director of Regulatory and Technology Policy, participated in the Telepower Conference in Hays, Kansas. Gustafson was invited by the conference’s sponsor, the Docking Institute, to debate Don Moler, the secretary to the executive director of the League of Kansas Municipalities, on the topic of Internet Taxation.

“Sales tax revenue is increasing, in overall dollars and as a percentage of total state revenue, in Kansas and almost every other state,” Gustafson said before the crowd of 150 participants at last night’s debate. “Combine those trends with the historically low unemployment rate in Kansas, the continued strong growth of the retail sector, and the tiny fraction of total retail sales that Internet sales represent, then the ‘threat’ to states from Internet sales is overstated at best. ‘Solutions’ that increase the role of government, reduce state sovereignty, push up average tax rates, and slow economic growth are not warranted,” he said.

You can view the Powerpoint slide presentation used by following the link below. If your browser doesn’t allow you to view powerpoint (.ppt) files, you can download the free Powerpoint viewer from Microsoft.

Kansas and Internet Taxation