Public finance law allows governments to collect revenue, normally in the form of taxes, from those who benefit from public goods and services, and to use those funds for the production and distribution of public goods and services. Two major focuses of public finance law are bond financing and public disclosures; these are associated with virtually every industry in the United States coupled with public financing. State departments of taxation regularly assess people who have failed to pay excise tax, or sales and use tax on Internet purchases, and are starting to assess Internet transactions.
In June, the city of Chicago’s Finance Department issued a ruling extending the city’s 9 percent Amusement Tax to cover Internet-based streaming video services such as Netflix. At that time it also started to tax Internet-based streaming audio and music services such as Spotify, and Internet-based gaming services like Xbox Live.
