Reception fuzzy in cable push for satellite tax. (Commentary).CHICAGO Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa Samuel Sosa Peralta (born November 12 1968 in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic) is a designated hitter for the Texas Rangers of the American League. His Major League career began when he broke in with the Texas Rangers in 1989. , who made headlines over a corked bat In baseball, a corked bat is a specially modified baseball bat that has been filled with cork or similar light, less dense substances to make the bat lighter without losing much power. A lighter bat gives a hitter a quicker swing and may improve the hitter's timing. , has plenty of company when it comes to seeking an unfair advantage over competitors. California's version of the corked bat controversy is the attempt by our cable television giants to gain an unfair advantage over their satellite television competitors. if they succeed, it is California consumers who will be slammed. As a longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective consumer advocate, I am appalled by the California Cable Telecommunications Association's attempt to pressure state policymakers into slapping slapping, n massage technique that uses the flat palms of the hands percussively; a form of tapotement. See also tapotement. an 8 percent tax on satellite TV. New taxes may indeed be necessary to balance California's budget, but if they are to be enacted, they must be fair. Government should not interfere in the marketplace by authorizing taxes that gives one side of an industry an unfair advantage over its competitors. But that's what the state's cable monopolies are attempting to do -- manipulate legislators into tilting tilt 1 v. tilt·ed, tilt·ing, tilts v.tr. 1. To cause to slope, as by raising one end; incline: tilt a soup bowl; tilt a chair backward. 2. the playing field in their direction. Slapping harsh taxes on consumers of satellite services is apparently the competitive strategy cable companies are attempting to employ to slow the growth of the satellite TV industry. This sort of anti-competitive behavior hurts consumers who prefer to get their information and entertainment from a satellite television company. Hefty new taxes could make satellite services unaffordable un·af·ford·a·ble adj. Too expensive: medical care that has become unaffordable for many. un . It's simply not fair to punish consumers for choosing satellite TV over cable. The CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency, London, www.ogc.gov.uk) An agency of the U.K. government's Office of Government Commerce that has been providing IT advice and guidance to the public sector for over 25 years. claims this tax is necessary to create parity with existing local taxes the cable industry pays. But it is not the state's responsibility to help cable companies compete for customers in the marketplace. Consumers benefit when competition exists because the entire industry is motivated to provide better service, competitive prices, new technologies and creative programming. Cable companies claim they pay local taxes, but what they actually pay are franchise fees to local government for use of the local infrastructure to deliver their services to their customers. They pass these fees on to customers in their monthly bills. Satellite TV broadcasters don't pay franchise fees because they don't use the local infrastructure to deliver their product. Instead, they pay a licensing fee to the federal government to broadcast from space. As with the cable industry, those fees are passed on to consumers in their monthly bills. If the Legislature deems it necessary to raise taxes to balance the state's budget those taxes should be broad and equitable. The burden should not be carried by a subset A group of commands or functions that do not include all the capabilities of the original specification. Software or hardware components designed for the subset will also work with the original. of consumers who happen to prefer one pay-TV service instead of another. Audrie Krause is executive director of NetAction, an interest group focusing on technology policy. |
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