Massachusetts IT Tech Tax Update

“Put three grains of sand inside a vast cathedral, and the cathedral will be more closely packed with sand than space is with stars.”

—James Jeans, English physicist, born September 11, 1877

The IT Tech Tax on Track to Repeal

We had the first in the new Tuesday InCommN-Click-Hidden-Tech Workshop series last at the Community Room of Hampton Court in Northampton. Most of last night’s session was a lively and informative discussion of the 6.25% IT Sales Tax that was sprung on the Massachusetts tech community this summer.

Repeal TodayScott Foster, partner at Bulkley, Richardson & Gelinas, is deeply involved in the political battle against this confusing, unfair, and inequitable tax. He led our discussion, and shared his insight into the political manouvering that appears to be on the brink of forcing repeal of the the tax. Jeff Rutherford, of Jeff Rutherford Media Relations, and Don Lesser of Pioneer Training gave us the benefit of their close study of the law and its ramifications and the communications they’ve had with their state representatives and senators.

The good news is that public opinion is highly negative about the IT Tech Tax, and vocal about it. Prominent and powerful legislators are on board to repeal it, and the Governor has officially come down on the side of repeal.

But it’s important that everyone who has a stake in this express their support for repeal to their state reps and senators, particularly Senator Stan Rosenberg, who is still on the fence about this matter and needs to hear from as many of us as possible as soon as possible.

In contacting legislators be calm, be polite, but let them know what your opinion is. Snail mail is better than email, and telephone calls are better than letters. Find your representatives at Members of the House of Representatives, and senators at Members of the Senate, and let them know you want the IT Tech Tax repealed ASAP.

More information about repeal efforts is available at Sparkcoaltion.org.

 

Events Today

Merry Party in a TavernHolyoke—7:45–9:15AM Chamber Legislative Coffee Hour
Greenfield—3:30–5:00PM Explore Starting a Business
Ludlow—5:00–8:00PM Affiliated Chambers of Greater Springfield September After 5
Northampton—5:00–7:00PM Greater Northampton Chamber Arrive @ Five
Springfield—5:15–7:30PM Valley Venture Mentors

The Logo Board Game

From: The Worst Things For Sale Blog
“Compete with your family to see who’s been beaten furthest into a state of marketing compliance! Reinforce the bond between corporate branding and happiness in your children! I’d go on, but now I’m hungry for some great Sun-Maid raisins and Taco Bell tacos and Go Daddy domains and Bic pens and UPS parcel services.”
Logo Board Game

Perverse Incentives: Medical Technology in America
“…The implications for innovation policy are twofold. First, we should pay only for innovations that are worth it, but without shutting out the potential for shaky new ideas that might have long-term potential. Two physicians, Steven Pearson and Peter Bach, have suggested a middle ground, where Medicare would cover such innovations for, say, three years; then, if there is still no evidence of effectiveness, Medicare would revert to paying for the standard treatment. Like many rational ideas, this one may fall victim to the internecine political struggles in Washington, D.C., where it’s controversial to suggest denying even unproven treatments for dying patients.

Hippocrates Refusing the Gifts of Artaxerxes“For this reason, the best way technology can save costs is if it is used to better organize the health-care system. While the U.S. may lead the world in developing costly new orthopedic prostheses, we’re far behind in figuring out how to get treatments to patients who want and could actually benefit from them. Doing so requires a greater emphasis on organizational change, innovations in the science of health-care delivery, and transparent prices to provide the right encouragement. This means smartphone diagnostics, technology to help physicians and nurses deliver the highest-quality care, or even drug container caps with motion detectors that let a nurse know when the patient hasn’t taken the daily dose. The overall benefits from innovation in health-care delivery could far exceed those arising from dozens of shiny new medical devices.”
The Costly Paradox of Health-Care Technology

Good Incentives: Silk Road, the “Amazon of Illegal Drugs”

A Foreign Merchant at the Silk Road

“The last place you might expect to find a singular cultural dedication to high quality products and killer customer service is the digital den of drug-dealers known as Silk Road. The Deep Web black market is among the farthest from the reach of the state. It facilitates an estimated $30 million worth of illegal transactions each year, with impunity, using the concealing tools and ethos of the cypherpunks. It is Chuck Schumer’s worst nightmare. It is also a great case study of a self-regulating black market in action.
”It is remarkable that Silk Road was able to overcome its significant coordination challenges to begin with. While traditional black markets rely on intricate in-person trust networks to survive outside of the law, Silk Road is founded on pseudonymity. Merchants know that their property rights will be respected by no formal court. Customers know they can get easily ripped off by an anonymous online dealer, to say nothing of the mysterious chemicals that may lurk in their purchases. Both must initially engage in an iterated dance of blind trust: that neither is a police officer, that promises will be kept, and that neither will snitch. A game theorist might declare this solution concept untenable from the start.

“Somehow, Silk Road overcame the odds….”
Silk Road as a Self-Regulating Black Market

The Last Word
“The poor are prevented from thinking by the discipline of others, the rich by their own.”

—Theodor Adorno, German philosopher, born September 11, 1903

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