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Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

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Re: Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole idea of policemen “risking their lives” is not statistically accurate. Only 144 policemen died in the line of duty in the entire United States last year ( https://www.npr.org/2018/12/27/680410169/more-police-officer... ) The Chicago police department isn’t exactly what most people would call “quality”.

Have you spoken to any police officers lately about their jobs? My next-door neighbor in my hometown was a state policeman who had guns and knives pulled on him several times in his career (during ordinary traffic stops, no less). If you're a cop working in a high-crime area, you're going to be dealing with the worst of society on a daily basis. I'm very thankful that my computer can't sporadically decide to physical…

We pay soldiers who literally go into war zones less than what we pay officers typically. I'm if the opinion that we should pay soldiers more and gurantee lifetime healthcare for soldiers, but at this time it does put the actual risk into perspective. Healthcare workers are also routinely put into danger, as are security guards, and really any position that deals with the public on a regular basis. I'm not sure police officers really have a strong argument about being more dangerous because of several occasions of violence or risk of harm, obviously it's a non-trivial risk, but they typically should have body armor and training to minimize the risk that others may not have access to.

Re: Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

#152

Chicago is a financial disaster and it's dragging Illinois into the fire. The situation is worse than detriot before it's bankrupcy. It's so bad that illinois is the only state in the union with a negative population growth. And, doubly, the only state to have that honor several years in a row. The debt is unsustainable and they tax everything. Just a few years ago they started taxing soda cans, and hybrids since "th…

> Chicago is a financial disaster and it's dragging Illinois into the fire. Cook county (Chicago) and the 5 suburban counties contribute more revenue to the state coffers than the entire rest of the state combined . The rest of the state receives a higher share of that revenue than Chicago and its suburbs (ie - they get more than they put in). [1] > The situation is worse than detriot before it's bankrupcy. Highly su…

Your own references show that Illinois is the only state with negative population growth for the last 5 years straight. Illinois financial state is totally unprecedented, and you didn't even bother arguing my point that the debt is equivalent to 20k per citizen.

Before accusing me of being factually incorrect you should read your sources

Re: Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

#153

Chicago is in the hole for nearly thirty billion dollars. They have been floating the idea of a ten billion dollar bond with the debt structured in a way which lets current politicians escape the fallout from its payment and not having to raise property taxes. The state of Illinois is not well off either with debts estimated at the low of one hundred thirty billion to two hundred fifty billion. An Illinois proposal j…

How can you be in debt for pensions of all things. Get employee. Put money in pension fund. Let fund grow. Wait 20 years earn interest and pay employee. end. What you are describing is gross mismanagement of funds, and blaming the rightful recipients of funds for the existing.

Because pensions are guaranteed benefits. So if you put it on a bond, and the bond goes down, you need to draw more taxes to make the difference.

Pensions are partially the outcome of wishful result-oriented thinking ("workers should have pensions they can depend on, so make the promise first and then the solution will happen").

Re: Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

#154
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pulling or cutting the pensions of retired public service workers (many of whom who risked their lives to protect the public) would, beyond the ethical questions, eliminate the credibility of the city's promises to those who sign up for such jobs and hence would likely greatly reduce the quantity and quality of recruits.

Just pay them market rate and give them 401ks like everyone else - what am I missing? Why do we keep doing this to ourselves with government jobs?

Public employees don't have a market rate...wat

Re: Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

#155

Chicago is in the hole for nearly thirty billion dollars. They have been floating the idea of a ten billion dollar bond with the debt structured in a way which lets current politicians escape the fallout from its payment and not having to raise property taxes. The state of Illinois is not well off either with debts estimated at the low of one hundred thirty billion to two hundred fifty billion. An Illinois proposal j…

Do the employees and employers not pay into a separate fund that cannot be touched? I fail to see how it's the fault of the pensioners. It's absolutely archaic if the future taxpayers have to pay for a retirees pension. In Canada we have pension funds that are separately funded entities that are payed into over an employee's career.

https://reason.com/2019/02/21/illinois-cops-pension-gimmick-...

https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-senate-passes-bill-b...

I don't think the pensioners are free of fault here.

Re: Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

#156

Maybe instead of putting on a show in court, Netflix et al should simply stop asking people for their physical addresses ? I mean, that is the underlying vulnerability that will allow this push to succeed. We were so excited for the promise of the Internet to overturn all this legacy bullshit. Then the legacy bullshitters got here, built a bunch of proprietary services on top of HTTP, marketed them as progress, and a…

Netflix: We don't know where any of our customers are, sorry Chicago! Chicago: Okay fine we talked to all the local ISPs and you're no longer accessible in our city. Have a nice day. or Chicago: We didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday guys, have you heard of this thing called GeoIP services? Besides, I'm sure Netflix is bound by all kinds of territory-based licensing to need people's addresses. Like if Foobar P…

>Chicago: We didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday guys, have you heard of this thing called GeoIP services?

Doesn’t work, especially not at city level.

Re: Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you actually doing business in those places, if people from there just go to your site that is hosted in your home jurisdiction? I'm not sure that it logically follows. Obviously, governments interpret the situation in the way that accrues them maximal power and brings the most activity into their purview.

A free service probably isn't going to get sued into compliance if you accept sign ups from EU, but if you accept payment from EU that definitely counts as 'doing business' and you should expect to comply with local regulations.

I accept payments from the EU and do not comply with GDPR. They can't sue me in my country's court for violating their laws. It really is that simple.

They'd have no repercussions except to block my site - and I'm guessing they didn't intend GDPR to turn into an internet filter.

Re: Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

#158
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't reside there, you're not liable to abide by their laws. I run a small US company, I don't have to comply with GDPR for example. Same applies here. I don't see why any company would implement this, perhaps appeasing regulators at the federal level.

I assume you mean well, but it’s not about your residence (or for businesses the place where they are incorporated) but rather where you do business. Just because I’m in California doesn’t mean I can do business in the EU without complying with their laws. Same goes for Chicago. You’re not required to do business there, but they can fine you for non-compliance if you are doing business. Note: all of this is in refere…

That's factually incorrect. No one in the EU can sue a California company for failing to comply with EU laws so long as the company does not have a physical presence in the EU. They'd have to block their site or something as an EU court has no jurisdiction over a California company and would be unable to take action against them.

An explicit law would need to be made in your jurisdiction forcing you to comply with their laws. I'm not aware of any such thing.

Re: Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

#159
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't reside there, you're not liable to abide by their laws. I run a small US company, I don't have to comply with GDPR for example. Same applies here. I don't see why any company would implement this, perhaps appeasing regulators at the federal level.

You would have been right up to June 21, 2018. After that, you are wrong. See South Dakota v. Wayfair, decided by the Supreme Court on that date [1]. If your business is in the US, and your customer is in the US, you can now be required to collect taxes for your customer's jurisdiction even if you have no connection with that jurisdiction other than online or mail order customers reside therein. [1] https://en.wikipe…

[deleted]

Re: Chicago successfully taxes streaming services

#160
post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, it's no more the pensioners' fault than any other voter. If they're a resident eligible to vote, it's partly their fault. It's not their fault for accepting a job offer with certain terms broadly available.

On the one hand, yes. On the other hand... (1) Pension decisions play out potentially over ~30-40 years. (2) If we accept that the cause is some official made a bad decision, it is almost certain that pension issues will be ongoing. There is potentially a 40 year window for idiots to get in and screw the whole system up. So in a sense, some large group of people need to be responsible. Not because it is fair, but bec…

So you're saying the pensioners are the reason for our failed system? I've never been more swayed by an argument in my life.
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