World Health Organization Trying To Tax The Internet?

Most would agree taxes in this country are bad enough as it is. Well, now the World Health Organization is considering a plan to try to tax the internet you are reading this on.

The World Health Organization is a division of the United Nations. As the name suggests, it deals with health issues around the world in an effort to help out various countries and peoples in need. It is a noble goal, but the Organization is starting to show a rather ugly side. It needs money to carry out its efforts and apparently is looking at a host of global tax proposals to raise that money. One includes taxing the internet.



The internet tax is a part of a platform of proposals that are designed to go to the general assembly of the Organization to be discussed. If approved, the proposals would then be packaged and sent to the general assembly of the United Nations where their implementation would be considered.

This process would be akin to the Climate Treaty effort in Denmark this past year. The overall goal would be to convince rich countries to implement the taxes to raise money to be paid to poor countries to assist with their health care issues. No monetary figures have been released for the amount to be raised at this time, but a figure in the billions would be expected.



So, is this going to happen? I find it unlikely. Countries are under tremendous financial strain at the moment and politicians are already running scared. This presents some very practical hurdles to getting this done. The health care debate in the United States shows how contentious an issue this can be within a country. Imagine trying to do it on a global scale!

Then there is the sovereignty of a nation. We do not live under one world government and the United Nations certainly does not have authority to pass law in the United States or any other country. This "global internet tax" would seem to violate the sovereignty of just about every nation. I seriously doubt the citizens would allow that to happen. I wouldn’t.

<< Back to Internet Taxes