NY governor proposes Internet tax on downloadsNew York Governor David Paterson has proposed a tax on Internet downloads, a spokesman said Monday, in a move that has raised eyebrows because it could apply to everything from software to pornography.
The four percent tax would apply to downloads of music, software, books, videos and other Internet content, a spokesman for Paterson said.
"It is a general proposal, not focused on the content, so it would apply to any download, regardless of the content," said Errol Cockfield.
The governor has floated the idea as a way of closing the state's 15 billion dollar budget deficit, but critics say the proposal would likely apply to the hugely lucrative Internet pornography industry and could even drive business away from the state.
"By taxing it you're legitimizing it," New York Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long told the New York Daily News.
Around 20 US states have begun to apply a tax to downloads such as music on iTunes, and similar measures are being mulled in Mississippi, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
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