Trend: Tax the Cloud. 5 Examples from across the country.

Is a decline in DVD and CD sales to blame for state governments that seek to tax cloud computing and storage? Are streaming services the root of this taxation push? Did we get bamboozled by the people who watch House fo Cards, and who doesn’t?

The easy answer: sales taxes fail to equitably tax the modern economy.

What cloud taxes have been implemented?

• “Tennessee extended its 7% sales tax to software and digital games that are accessed remotely”
• “Chicago is one of the first cities to wade into taxing digital goods, requiring in the coming months local taxes on cloud computing and streaming entertainment.”
• Alabama legislators voted down a “Netflix” tax
• Vermont halted its plan to tax the cloud when it realized the cloud is more of a service than a good
• “Idaho has moved cautiously on taxing cloud computing and streaming video. Two years ago, the state decided to exempt most cloud-based software from sales taxes, viewing it as a service. The following year, it exempted downloadable software, while taxing digital music, video, books and games, according to the state tax commission.”

Wallstreet Journal