DEATH, TAXES and IoT under President Elect Donald Trump

A few months back I wrote about some friends who approached me on telecom taxation issues.  When they were done, I congratulated them on scaring me to death.

The reality has been that since the dominance of Wireless and the Internet, the old models for state revenue have been bypassed and largely ignored.

One of the main reasons for this was the way traffic was aggregated and bypassed the traditional jurisdictional models.  Another was the FCC and the Pulver order making Internet based communication exempt from state laws.

Since the Pulver Order was signed there have been several claw backs by states and the FCC itself.

However, if you were to listen to many people in the industry, they talk as if the rules don’t apply to IoT.

In my past, I have seen the rules change several times on a grand scale.  For example, the rules on data circuits as equivalent to voice circuits nearly bankrupted Western Union, when divesture occurred.

While many have speculated about the Presidency of Donald Trump, it’s clear he is going to have commissioner that will pull back from certain “Internet friendly” policies like Net Neutrality. 

This comes at a time when some are playing fast and loose with the way they deploy IoT.  For example if you do not have and Internet address on a wireless sensor, how is it protected as IoT?  Another question is who is responsible for the liability if your network partner has not properly accounted for taxes?

We have a webinar coming up that will address these issues.  As a former advocate and facilitator of telecom audits.  I strongly recommend you have someone listen in who can advise you on your best practices for the future.