Young Americans Oppose Internet Sales Tax

In a recent Gallup poll, the majority of Americans (57%) say they would vote against a law that would allow each state to collect sales taxes on purchases its residents make online over the Internet. Young adults (73%) voice the most widespread opposition to such a law.

The Senate passed an Internet sales tax bill, the Marketplace Fairness Act, last month on a bipartisan basis, but it has yet to pass the House. This legislation would allow states to require online sellers to collect sales taxes, which would go to state and local governments. The legislation would apply to online retailers earning at least $1 million in sales outside of states where they have brick-and-mortar locations. Currently, online retailers do not have to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases unless they have a physical presence in the state.

This legislation faces more opposition in the House than it did in the Senate, with numerous members, including House Speaker John Boehner, criticizing it. The White House has announced that the president supports the legislation.

Age largely shapes Americans' views on taxing Internet sales. Younger Americans are much more likely than older Americans to oppose such a law. If Republicans in the House oppose the Internet sales tax bill, that may help the GOP's appeal to younger Americans, a key demographic in the party's plans to build support before the 2014 and 2016 elections.

Internet Economy Expected To Grow Rapidly

As the world enters the information age, and the Internet continues to assimilate into the everyday lives of billions of people, the question begs: how impactful is the Internet to the economy?  The Economist has released a graph based on a recent report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) detailing the Internet’s contribution to the economies of the G20 countries.  The Internet economy in Britain is now larger than its construction and education sectors, comprising over 8% of GDP and forecasted to amount to over 12% by 2016.  BCG predicts that the Internet economy will grow at more than 10% annually, and by 2016, will comprise 5.3% of GDP in the G20 nations.  BCG also notes that as of now, the European Union has not capitalized on Internet revenues due to a lack of a single, all-encompassing digital market.

The Growth of Russia's Middle Class

The Economist recently investigated the growth of Russia’s middle class in its March 2^nd daily chart.  The data inspected various characteristics of the Russian middle class throughout the first decade of the 21^st century.  The size of the middle class grew from 15% to 25% of the population, and GDP per person grew about $9,000 (growing approximately 133%).  Additionally, Internet users grew from less than 50 per 1000 persons to over 450 per 1000.  Lastly, the middle class has engaged in more tourism, with tourist travel abroad more than doubling.  Of future interest will be the potential growth of the middle class throughout the current decade and how the new leadership (elections take place this coming Sunday) may affect this data.

When Mom and Dad Become Big Brother

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released new findings on parental monitoring of teenage children's internet activity. According to Pew, "more than three-quarters (77%) of parents say that they have checked to see what websites their child has visited." Pew also found that "two-thirds of parents of online teens have checked to see what information was available online about their child."
More parents check a child's internet activity now than in 2006, when the figure stood at 65%. Pew writes: "White parents of online teens (83%) are more likely to check the websites of their browsing teens than black parents (75%) or Latino parents (64%). Parents in higher-income households and those with at least a high school diploma are also more likely than others to check up on their teen’s online travels."

Additionally, Mothers who use the internet (75%) are more likely than fathers (55%) to say they check information on their children on the internet. Further, "higher-income parents are more likely to do this than those who live in households with more modest incomes." White and black parents are more likely to report doing so than Latino parents, and parents with higher levels of education are also more likely to research their teenage child's "digital reputation." The percentage of parents of girls aged 14-17 (72%) researching their child's internet reputation far exceeds the 55% of parents who research information on younger sons' internet reputations.39% of parents are friends or connected with their children on social networking sites, but Pew found that this connection comes with an increased likelihood of parent-child conflict. "Teens whose parents report that they are friends with their child on social network sites are more likely than teens who aren’t friends with their parents to say that they had a problem with their parents because of an experience on social media (18% vs. 5%)."