California Gov. Gavin Newsom said it's unfair how some people avoid paying the state sales tax when buying software.
  • fira@lemmy.todayEnglish
    4 hours

    Tax the rich you coward!!

    Seriously though, is he trying to fire a salvo in some BS culture war battle? Maybe he thinks taxing software will effectively tax ai?

  • chunes@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3 hours

    I’ve never heard the term “pre-written software” in my life and I’ve been a nerd for many decades.

    lawyers sure are something else with their stupid-ass terms.

  • goatinspace@feddit.orgEnglish
    4 hours

    As someone that buys software in BestBuy often, I’ve seen Gavin buy the same Turbotax CD-R rougly 13 times. Syke. Then he found out that all his friends don’t buy software in BestBuy.

  • rf_@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5 hours

    Do wealth tax instead!!!

    Inequality is the cause of poor living standards. We need higher taxes on inheritance, wealth. And weaker taxes on workers.

  • mctoasterson@reddthat.comEnglish
    6 hours

    “Not fair to those who buy physical software”

    What was the most recent fucking calendar year when somebody walked into a CompUSA and bought physical boxed software??

    I think I bought Half-Life 2 in box on launch day. So… 2004.

    • frongt@lemmy.zipEnglish
      4 hours

      I bought Portal 2 in 2011. While it was a box, it was from Amazon, not brick and mortar. I don’t think I’ve ever bought software off a shelf.

      Games definitely, but those would have been used.

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    3 hours

    Well, now we’ve got Trump on the right imposing new regressive taxes:

    https://www.hbs.edu/bigs/robert-lawrence-qa-trade-tariffs

    And since tariffs are only levied on goods, and since it’s poorer Americans who spend a greater share of their consumption on goods than rich Americans, this is a highly regressive tax.

    And Newsom on the left:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_tax

    Because the rate of a sales tax does not change based on a person’s income or wealth, sales taxes are generally considered regressive…Investopedia defines a regressive tax as “[a] tax that takes a larger percentage from low-income people than from high-income people. A regressive tax is generally a tax that is applied uniformly. This means that it hits lower-income individuals harder”.

    EDIT: As of 2025, California has the eighth-highest average combined state-local sales tax rate in the US, at 8.802%:

    https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/sales-tax-rates-2025/

  • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    8 hours

    This is the candidate libs are going to be screaming at you to vote for in 2028. Don’t let him make it past the primary.

    • sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.todayEnglish
      5 hours

      Lots of California residents who believed lock downs during COVID were necessary also seem to not care that he, among other politicians gathered at fancy restaurants at the same time

      • kreskin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4 hours

        the centrist zionist who votes to support “business” over his constituents needs any way he can? I guess if you loved Biden he’s pretty much the same thing. Good luck with that I guess. If all you are voting for is that he’s ex nasa, he’s your obvious choice. But he’s pretty much the same as Newsom then, how do you differentiate them? One is bald and the other not?

        https://www.boughtbyzionism.org/mark_kelly

    • Alexstarfire@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7 hours

      I’m hoping that he won’t be the candidate. He might be better than a Republican, but that’s the only positive thing I can think of. There are so many better Democratic prospects.

    • Fredselfish@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8 hours

      Yep guy future right then Regan and Democrats are going tell us how he is the answer. This fuckwit is drolling to get to do half the shit Trump is getting away with.

      • Peppycito@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        8 hours

        Same play as Mark Carney in Canada. A rebranded Conservative spouting liberal bullshit.

  • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
    9 hours

    “As someone who lives near a Best Buy, I’m at Best Buy often,” Newsom told reporters during a news conference. “And I’m paying sales tax on a lot of this prewritten software. And then I find out that all my friends that aren’t near a Best Buy, they’re downloading and they are not paying sales tax. How is that fair?”

    I agree, its not fair, let’s just remove the sales tax, k? 👍

    Also pretty sure no one is buying software from Best Buy in 2026, that would be dumb as hell.

    • Fredselfish@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8 hours

      Also I fucking doubt Newsome been anywhere near a Best Buy much less bought software from there.

    • adarza@lemmy.caEnglish
      9 hours

      this is just reclassifying ‘digital’ software as taxable. the same as software on physical media already is in california. some states have a similar tax status for these products.

      many states already did the same with digital video and streaming.

      i don’t really see a problem with it.

      • Cris_Citrus@piefed.zipEnglish
        7 hours

        I think their point may be more thay sales taxes are regressive- they disproportionately impact people with less money, as those people need to spend all or most of what they have for necessities, while folks with a large surplus of wealth or income only need to spend a small portion and much of it can go towards savings or investments

        I dont think its unreasonable for someone to say they’d rather just do away with sales tax altogether. We may have more appropriate tools with which to fund the government

    • agentTeiko@piefed.socialEnglish
      9 hours

      You all are buying software? I just donate to my friendly neighborhood FOSS Developer.

      • XLE@piefed.socialEnglish
        7 hours

        How else would I get this year’s version of Macaffe Antivirus!

      • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
        9 hours

        Let me know when your friendly neighborhood FOSS developer creates a CRM or accounting software that doesn’t cost me more in time to get running and figure out how to use than the paid options.

          • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
            2 hours

            Yeah I didn’t say “when they exist”.

            These are also not “free as in beer”.

            Also your Big Capital has a .Claude file at the top of it and likewise Twenty has .cursor so LOLOLOL no thanks

            • feannag@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
              11 minutes

              I’m not saying these are plug and play, but they are quite literally free as in beer.

              AI is definitely problematic. But if you think your paid for software doesn’t use AI in it in the present day, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.

          • hightrix@lemmy.worldEnglish
            8 hours

            Yeah, our IT department will definitely replace our CRM and Accounting software with some random GitHub projects.

            Thanks!

            • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zipEnglish
              6 hours

              Your IT department likely just selects some random vendor that doesn’t really give a shit and puts all your data beyond some bullshit cloud service anyways. That they probably cobbled together from github anyways.

            • just_another_person@lemmy.worldEnglish
              5 hours

              Did you not read? Those are established for-profit companies who also happen to release open-source versions of their stack. They also have hosted cloud versions.

              You’re just backing away because you’ve been pointed out to be wrong in your sarcastic bullshit, buddy. Just walk away.

      • YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pubEnglish
        9 hours

        Sales taxes are regressive. The poorest people pay way more of their income to buy things at stores. Therefore they are getting taxed a lot more than someone who saves money because they have bigger incomes

      • iamthetot@piefed.caEnglish
        5 hours

        People who downvote someone asking a question is insane. Gods forbid you want to learn something or engage in a dialogue.

  • db2@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7 hours

    He’s really trying to paint himself as something he isn’t by the Trump clowning. The reality is he’s the same thing with less narcissism and dementia. He isn’t the good guy he’s the marginally less bad guy.

  • favoredponcho@lemmy.zipEnglish
    7 hours

    California, continuing to find any other regressive tax they can implement rather than just forcing rich and old people to pay more property taxes on their homes that are locked in at rates from the 1970s-1990s.

  • ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zipEnglish
    8 hours

    I’ve been paying tax on games for years. Digital storefronts had to implement state sales tax after the big Wayfair suit in like 2018.

    What software has been ignoring this?

    • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zipEnglish
      6 hours

      California has an exemption on sales tax for digital delivery. Really he is saying he is going to remove the exemption.

      • ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zipEnglish
        5 hours

        I don’t live in California. Not sure why you felt the need to repeat the other person, though. The information had already been shared.