Question 5:

The Internet. Getting beyond the hype, what role, if any, should state government play in the development, promotion, use, taxation, and regulation of the Internet?

MARTY Response 5:

The Internet has great potential for changing the way Minnesotans communicate, learn, work, and do business. This gives us the opportunity to rethink everything from transportation infrastructure needs to simplification of business licensing. State and local governments must use the internet to improve public access to information, to reduce paper consumption, and save tax dollars.

The Internet will increase tele-commuting opportunities and reduce needs for air and surface transportation. We should promote Internet use as a means of protecting the environment and conserving resources, as well as a way to reduce need for costly government infrastructure.

To make the internet more valuable for individuals, businesses and schools, the state (along with the federal government) must be prepared to:

• protect the privacy of internet communication, so internet commerce is protected from theft and loss of trade secrets.
• work with consumers to protect against internet crime and financial scams.
• help parents protect their children from inappropriate sites.
• prepare contingency plans to address major disruption of service (even a short loss of telephone service costs business millions. Loss of internet access, even for a short time, could cause even greater problems in the future.)

For taxation purposes, the state should not be using the internet to generate new revenue. Internet tax policy should be consistent with policy elsewhere, e.g., retail sales by internet should be treated the same as retail sales by catalog.

No one can foresee all the changes and opportunities the internet will give us. My administration will work closely with the Office of Technology to track new advances quickly. Prompt application of new technology will save taxpayers money and enable a proactive response to potential internet problems.