Early in our great nation's history the trend was set to oppose and reject any attempt by the government to impose unfair or unnecessary taxation. Many debates have formed from this issue and most recently, with incredible strides having been made in the technology sector, the discussion has turned to taxation over internet commerce and communication. Does the government have the right to tax interstate and international internet commerce? Can there be a tax levied upon e-mail that is sent and received? These questions have extended themselves into both Congressional and Senate forums and though many times overlooked by the general public, these very issues will affect innumerable people worldwide.
             The European Union currently collects a value-added tax (VAT) that applies only to the purchases made by European Union residents from European Union online retailers. Any items purchased online from sources outside the European Union are non-taxed. This leads to loss of revenue by the business sector of the European Union and loss of tax revenue by the states of the European Union. However, purchases made from European Union businesses by U.S. consumers add greatly to the economies of those European Union states. So the question arises if it would be more profitable to have American dollars flowing in to the European Union economy through the increased tax-free purchases or take a chance on losing U.S. consumers by attempting to increase revenues through taxation of those sales.
             Returning to the home front, debate flows in much the same manner. Our economy has undeniably been stimulated by the tremendous growth of the technology industry. The profits from computer hardware and software sales are the tip of the iceberg. Residual sales for service oriented business such as internet service providers, technical support services and on-line marketing are a much greater source of profit. The average computer owner also has internet ...