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The tax man cometh

18 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

We "have been purchased at a price," this Sunday's second reading reminds us. State governments are thinking the same thing about items bought by their residents online, and the days of buying things tax free on the internet could be drawing to a close. As the economy worsens and state budget deficits soar, an increasing number of states want online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by their residents-even if the seller has no physical presence in the state, such as a retail outlet. That development is sparking conflict with companies that do business online only and have enjoyed being able to offer sales-tax free shopping. One of the most aggressive states, New York, is being sued by Amazon.com Inc. over a new requirement that online companies must collect taxes on shipments to New York residents, even if the companies are located elsewhere. The amount of money at stake nationwide is unclear; online sales were expected to make up about 8 percent of all retail sales in 2008. One estimate claimed that if Web retailers had to collect taxes on all sales to consumers, it could generate $3 billion in new revenue for governments. Collecting online sales taxes is not as simple as it might sound. A nationwide Internet business faces thousands of tax-collecting jurisdictions--states, counties, and cities--and tangled rules about how various products are taxed. A 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling said that states can't force businesses to collect sales taxes unless the businesses have operations in that state. The court also said Congress could lift the ban, which remains in place-for now. Source: An article by Rachel Metz for the Associated Press

taxes state government internet sales tax online buying new york amazoncom

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The cure for the common book?

15 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

While Jesus cautioned the cured leper to "tell no one anything" in this Sunday's gospel, manufacturers of digital book readers, such as Sony and Amazon.com, are anxious to tell everyone about their latest breakthroughs on the road to the paperless book. Amazon unveiled a new version of its popular Kindle e-reader this Monday. The new Kindle was unveiled in New York with great fanfare. Author Stephen King was on hand and has a special, Kindle-themed novella, "Ur," available exclusively for the device. The new model clearly improves on the original in some notable and secondary aspects, said reviewers, who mention faster page-turning, better key layout, and a lighter, thinner design. Kindle 2 also offers text-to-speech translation of anything stored on the device. A semi-robotic voice narrates a book or article, or even a work document a user has downloaded to the Kindle, through built-in stereo speakers or a connected auto sound system. The speaking speed can even be adjusted for faster or slower narration. Amazon says it has an inventory of more than 230,000 downloadable books that sell for $9.99 or less, plus dozens of automatically updated magazines and newspapers and 1,200-plus blogs available for low-cost subscription purchase. But with the Kindle's price tag holding steady at $359 (and which actually is going up, because buyers now pay $25 to $50 extra for a previously included protective case), price-conscious consumers will likely stay on the sidelines, many observers predicted. "At $359, in this economy, Kindle 2 is an elitist product," said Jason Perlow of the tech website ZDNet. "If Amazon really wants to make this the everyman's electronic book, they've got to get it down to $250." Source: Articles by Jonathan Takiff for the Philadelphia Daily News and Jessica Shambora for Fortune

amazoncom digital book readers sony kindle e-reader stephen king kindle 2 jason perlow zdnet

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Ebooks en español? Excellente!

27 May 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Devout Jews from every land who were in Jerusalem for Pentecost were amazed that each of them heard the Galilean disciples preaching in his or her native tongue. Over 67,000 people attended a Spanish-language book fair in Los Angeles last week, eager to find literature in that tongue. Observers say explosive growth of eReader and tablet sales among Hispanics suggest that ebooks in Spanish will increasingly meet that demand.Attendance at this year’s fair was nearly double last year’s. The organizers of the event, the International Book Fair of Guadalajara and the University of Guadalajara Foundation, said that Los Angeles is actually the second largest “Mexican” city, behind Mexico City and ahead of Guadalajara and Monterrey.Several digital startups in attendance may be well positioned for the future direction of Spanish language publishing. BajaLibros.com (“download books”), launched one year ago in Argentina, now sells to readers across Latin America, and the U.S. LibrosBooks.com, based in El Paso, Texas, opened up shop this past January to sell Spanish-language books via the internet. In April, online bookselling giant Amazon.com announced the launch of its “eBooks Kindle en Español” store.A recent study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows that Hispanics’ adoption rate of both eReaders and tablets superseded that of the already explosive growth in that area of the general market. Latino adoption of eReaders more than tripled during the most recent holiday gift-giving season. “Hispanics like to be connected. We like technology in general and if it's on sale for a good price, we'll buy it,” said Ariel Coro, Univision’s host of Tu Tecnología, a feature that educates Hispanic families on the latest technologies. Source: An article by Joe Kutchera for Fox News Latino

Technology international book fair of guadalajara ereaders electronic publishing bajalibroscom librosbookscom ariel coro ebooks electronic readers los angeles hispanics latinos amazoncom Spanish university of guadalajara foundation

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Look, up in the sky! Is it a drone?

12 Jan 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus comes out of the water and sees the heavens open, the Spirit of God descend in the form of a dove, and a voice declare him “beloved.” When drone aircraft fly out of the sky seeking a threat or delivering a package, how will Americans react? While drones are already in use by law enforcement and hobbyists, the next few years may see them expand into vastly different applications, like counter-terrorism and the delivery of merchandise.Last month Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos said on CBS television that his company is testing delivering packages using drones. The idea would be to deliver packages as quickly as possible using the small, unmanned aircraft, known as octocopters, which will pick up packages in small yellow buckets at Amazon's fulfillment centers and fly through the air to deliver items to customers.Putting the system into commercial use will take "some number of years" as Amazon develops the technology further and waits for the Federal Aviation Administration to issue rules, the company said.The FAA currently limits the use of drones in the U.S. to public entities, meaning the devices cannot be used in return for payment. The regulatory agency said recently that it plans to have regulations governing commercial use in place by 2015.While some citizens have threatened to open fire if Amazon starts filing the skies with its machinery, they are apparently less hostile if drones are hunting terrorists. According to a Fox News poll last year, 74 percent of voters approve of using drones to kill a suspected terrorist overseas. The level of approval drops from 74 percent to 60 percent, however, if the suspected terrorist is a U.S. citizen.Even when it comes to drone use on U.S. soil, a 56-percent majority of voters approves of such strikes on a suspected foreign terrorist. Voters, however, disapprove of drone attacks when they are aimed at a U.S. citizen suspected of being a terrorist on U.S. soil. In those circumstances, by a 50-45 percent margin, voters say no.Homily hint: The messages received in life are sometimes ignored or misunderstood. While the utilization of drones for both business and security may send mixed messages, the message from God at Jesus' baptism asks a clear question: Has your sense of your own purpose in life "gotten here yet"? Have you heard the word of God? Sources: Articles by Dana Blanton for FOX News, Alistair Barr for USA Today, and Marcus Wohlsen for Wired

terrorism amazoncom drones jeff bezos

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