Gov. Mike Leavitt just doesn't get it. He seems to think that taxing the Internet will prove a messiah to brick-and-mortar stores everywhere and, more importantly for him, to state coffers.
To a large extent, however, Leavitt's concerns about state revenues drying up are unfounded, a point that U.S. Rep. Chris Cox has repeatedly made. See www.house.gov/chriscox/press/columns/1999/internettaxes.htm.As for the Internet killing traditional retail stores because it's tax-free, this claim is dubious, at best. People shop online for convenience, to compare prices and find the best deal and to widen their selection. An Internet tax will not level the playing field -- online retailers will win over the consumer for a variety of other reasons, wholly unrelated to a tax at the end of the purchase.
But why try to kill the golden goose? Why strangle Internet innovation by weighing it down with taxes? The Internet has brought about an unprecedented boom in the U.S. economy. True to his general lack of vision (witness the state's infrastructure problems, for example, as well as the paltry amounts he spends on Utah's schools), Leavitt has taken a myopic view of the Internet, a view that bodes ill for Utah and the nation.
Gov. Leavitt should worry more about why Utah remains a relative backwater for technology firms, when states like Texas, Washington, Virginia, Oregon and, of course, California far surpass it. Leavitt's Internet taxation views are anathema to technology firms, making them wary of setting up shop in Utah.
Perhaps it's time Utah elected a governor with a bit more vision than Leavitt apparently has.
Matt Asay
Stanford, Calif.