VOIP in Missouri less expensive due to Matt Blunt - July 11, 2008
DALLAS,
July 11, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Institute for Policy
Innovation (IPI) commends Gov. Matt Blunt's decision yesterday
to sign the telecommunications deregulation legislation
recently passed by the Missouri Legislature.
As
a result of this action, the Show Me state will allow Voice over IP
(VoIP) technology to develop and flourish statewide without
regulatory interference.
"Missouri has shown bold
leadership -- not by being the first state to attempt to tax
and regulate an exciting new technology, but rather by reining in the regulators,"
said IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
"These sorts of
technology innovations are the prime drivers of economic growth
because they increase productivity of businesses and enterprises large and
small," said Giovanetti.
With the measure,
Missouri has avoided taxing the risk-taking companies that are
creating jobs by investing and building out infrastructure in the
state. "We ought to be praising and rewarding the
facilities-based providers who are doing the favor of building
out a critical broadband infrastructure using their own risk
capital," said Bartlett Cleland, Director of the IPI Center for Technology
Freedom.
With deregulation, Missouri consumers
will enjoy a decrease in the taxes and fees they otherwise may
have been required to pay. The only industries that bear a
heavier tax burden are cigarettes and alcohol.
"Clearly,
Missouri has shown a desire to lead in the communications market as well
as in state leadership by relaxing regulations and therefore encouraging economic
advancement, job creation and income growth," said Cleland.
The
Institute for Policy Innovation is an independent, non-profit public policy
organization based in Dallas, Texas. Experts are available for interview
by contacting Erin Humiston at (972) 874-5139, or erin@ipi.org.
SOURCE
Institute for Policy Innovation
Erin Humiston of
Institute for Policy Innovation, +1-972-874-5139, erin@ipi.org
