Last October, I inched my way towards the 21st Century and bought an iPod. I find it wonderful, because when I’m at the gym I can listen to music that I like, not the techno-garbage that my gym plays.
iPods haven’t been bad for Apple, either, as they’ve become a ubiquitous symbol of the 21st Century. Apple’s iTunes store is doing a booming business, selling downloads of music.
And the Tax Man Cometh.
In California, music is not subject to sales tax because it is not considered tangible personal property (something you can hold). But that’s not the case in many states. If you live in Washington, Texas, or Indiana, you need to pay either sales tax or use tax on your iTunes downloads. And as this CNET story states, many other states are looking at taxing the downloads.
Of course, you could live in Oregon—the state with no sales tax. If you don’t, you may find that download costs an extra 5% to 10% as states continue to move forward in taxing the Internet.