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N.Y. Governor Pledges Upstate Revitalization
by Michael Martinez
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer this week pledged to invest $1 billion to revitalize the economy in the northern areas of his state.
In the state's first ever "State of the Upstate" address, Spitzer said the $1 billion revitalization fund will be the driving force behind his plan to make upstate New York more competitive in the global marketplace.
A substantial amount of that money will fuel tech-related projects. Spitzer, a Democrat, said that $15 million will be set a side to establish a program to improve high-speed Internet access. He said that the broadband fund will help to guarantee that those who live in upstate New York have access to new economic opportunities.
"It is unacceptable that only 25 percent of New Yorkers who live in rural areas have access to affordable, high-speed broadband Internet," Spitzer said. "And the lack of broadband access is an equally serious problem in our inner cities. In a digital age, businesses, families and individuals who lack broadband access find their economic and educational opportunities limited."
The revitalization fund also will facilitate the construction of cutting-edge crime analysis centers in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. The new centers will build on grants Spitzer offered to those cities last year for the acquisition of new high-tech crime fighting tools.
"Besides affordability, the single most important building block for livable communities is public safety," Spitzer said. "While overall crime is down upstate, too many of our upstate cities are struggling with pockets of violence."
New York's business community reacted favorably to Spitzer's plan for upstate New York. Diane Kerry, the president of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that she is pleased Spitzer is focused on addressing the "root causes" of why so many businesses in that part of the state are at a competitive disadvantage.
She said the proposed investment will help to "educate and retain some of our brightest young people, transferring cutting-edge technology and research into commercially viable products and services, and creating the economic conditions for these people and ideas to flourish right here in our upstate communities."
Assemblywoman Joan Christensen, whose district includes Syracuse, said Spitzer is correct to judge that upstate New York is under an "economic cloud."
"Upstate's best days are in front of us, and I think this infusion of money into upstate along with some of the other tax relief incentives he has proposed will go a long way in advancing central New York's economy," she said.
Maryland Business, Tech Groups Fight New Computer Tax
Business and technology groups in Maryland this week launched an online effort to repeal the state's new tax on computer services.
The Maryland Chamber of Commerce and the Tech Council of Maryland on Monday unveiled the site FightTheTax.com to protest the new fee, which was passed during last fall's special legislative session. The lawmakers behind the tax claim it will help to raise as much as $200 million a year in revenue.
Officials in Maryland's business community said they are worried that the tax is unfair to smaller businesses that have to contract computer services from other firms. The groups behind the anti-tax Web site also said the fee will be an administrative nightmare.
Kathy Snyder, the president of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, said in a news release that the tax threatens the economic growth being achieved by innovative businesses in her state.
"Innovative technologies fuel business growth and job creation," she said. "Regardless of company size or industry sector, Maryland businesses rely on computer services. This tax will harm Maryland's economic development goal of maintaining a high-tech knowledge economy and workforce."
Tech Council of Maryland CEO Julie Coons described the tax as "very troublesome." Her group includes several companies with national clout, including America Online.
If Maryland implements the tax, "other states are likely to follow," she said. "Technology companies throughout the nation are watching Maryland."
The new tax is set to go into effect in July. Similar taxes have been levied in Florida, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. All of them were repealed.
Firm To Pay $1 Million To Settle E-Marketing
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum on Wednesday announced a $1 million settlement with a Delaware-based company prosecutors accused of fraudulently marketing free products to consumers in his state.
McCollum said the firm World Avenue has agreed to pay to settle the allegations that it falsely promised free gifts to customers who signed up for various online offers. According to McCollum's cyber fraud tax force, the company already has reimbursed customers who may have been affected by the scheme.
Investigators said that most consumers were contacted about the free gift offers through pop-up online advertisements and e-mail solicitations. Law enforcers determined some of the promotional merchandise was not "free," and that the terms and conditions for acquiring the goods were not properly disclosed.
"Consumers have long been victimized by online marketers' deceptive use of the word 'free' as an inducement for the purchase of goods and services and today's agreement makes great strides against that trend," McCollum said. "Online marketers should be required to clearly and conspicuously disclose all material terms and conditions related to the receipt of any item marketed as free."
New Mexico Groups Push 'Sin Tax' For TVs, Video Games
Environmental groups in New Mexico are pushing lawmakers there to consider a new "sin tax" on televisions and videogames that would help to fund outdoor education initiatives.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported this week that more than a dozen organizations, including the state's Sierra Club chapter, are lobbying for a new 1 percent sales tax on games on television sets that they claim could raise as much as $4 million a year for outdoor programs. A similar bill was introduced in the state's legislature last year but it died in committee.
Michael Casaus, a spokesman for the Sierra Club, told the New Mexican that the tax is small enough that most consumers would not even realize it. But he said the money it would raise would provide a significant boost to programs aimed at getting students outside. Lawmakers set aside $270,000 for outdoor education initiatives last year, even though they rejected the proposed tax.
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