CCIA Concerned by Possible Mass. Data Tax

The Computer & Communications Industry Association opposed a Massachusetts bill (S-1896) that would establish a municipal broadband fund using revenue from a proposed tax on personal data. While the current bill doesn’t set the tax, it would require entities that sell personal data to register annually with the Department of Revenue and would direct the department to recommend ways to tax them, CCIA said Tuesday in written comments filed with the legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee. “Determining how to count the number of consumers applicable under this type of tax would pose significant technical difficulties and confusion,” warned the group: Businesses would likely pass through the tax’s costs to customers. Taxes targeting online services raise constitutional concerns under the commerce clause, added CCIA.