Wabash County, Indiana wants to expand its access to high speed internet through a fiber optic network build out, and is planning to use a distinctive financial tool to do so. The Wabash County Redevelopment Commission has begun the process of assigning a special Economic Development Area designation for the purpose of helping to finance new … Read More
The Hill, July 25, 2014 The tax incentive for wind power expired last year, and the battle over its extension is now underway. Opponents say the wind power production tax credit, PTC, is a wasteful boondoggle while supporters say it’s crucial for renewable energy and jobs. The Sierra Club calls it “one of the best bets … Read More
Salon, July 12, 2014 A motley group of boomers and millennials recently filed into Scottish Rite Center on the shores of Lake Merritt in Oakland, California, to talk about economics. Dressed casually in denim, lace and cotton and sporting dreadlocks, bobs and buzz cuts, these small-business owners hailed from rural bergs, little towns and long-neglected urban … Read More
Thomasville belongs to Community Network Services (CNS), serving six communities in southwest Georgia. Thanks in part to revenue generated by the network, this community of 18,000 has eliminated its local fire tax. In 2013, Thomasville is estimated to earn a net income of up to $8.5 million from its utility services while keeping prices affordable in … Read More
Thomasville is one of six cities served by Community Network Services (CNS) in rural southwest Georgia. We’ve covered Thomasville and CNS in the past, highlighting the benefits of reliable high-speed broadband in these remote rural communities. But one benefit we haven’t covered yet is quite remarkable – Thomasville residents have been paying zero fire tax thanks … Read More
Austin, Texas, with a little over 820,000 people, is home to several centers of higher ed, the Southwest Music Festival, and a next generation network known as the Greater Austin Area Telecommunications Network (GAATN). It was also the second metro area selected by Google for the Google Fiber deployment. But before they got Google Fiber, a … Read More
This week, ILSR joined a coalition of 18 independent business trade associations, led by the American Booksellers Association (ABA), in urging the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on the Judiciary to hold a hearing on sales tax fairness. In the following letter, addressed to Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), the associations wrote … Read More
Independent We Stand, June 20, 2013 It costs the Old Town Bike Shop in Colorado Springs about $24,000 a year to provide health insurance for four employees, according to owner John Crandall. Meanwhile, his largest competitors, Walmart and Target, foist much of their health care costs onto taxpayers, according to new data released by Massachusetts, Missouri, … Read More
State data reveal that Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, and others offer such low pay and benefits that many of their employees rely on public assistance, at a cost of billions of dollars a year. … Read More
