There must be more than one Dave Feldman on the Sun-Timespayroll.
How can just one man handicap races, write columns, getinterviewed on talk shows, travel to out-of-state tracks for specialraces, fulfill his duties as president of the Horsemen's Benevolent …
NEW YORK - Wall Street appeared poised for a rebound on Wednesday after strong quarterly earnings from Amazon.com Inc. and Boeing Co. helped offset fears about the slumping mortgage industry's impact on the overall economy.
The move higher would follow Wall Street's tumble on that took the Dow Jones industrials down more than 200 points. Investors were rattled by disappointing earnings and renewed concerns about the mortgage lending market.
Investors will get a better glimpse of the economy later Wednesday when the National Association of Realtors reports on existing home sales for June. The market anticipates that 5.85 million homes were resold in June, down from 5.99 …
| American League |
| Toronto vs Baltimore, 1:35 p.m. |
| N.Y. Yankees vs Texas, 2:05 p.m. |
| Boston vs Minnesota, 2:10 p.m. |
| Detroit vs Kansas City, 2:10 p.m. |
| Seattle vs Oakland, 4:05 p.m. |
| Tampa Bay vs Cleveland, 6:05 p.m. |
| Chicago White Sox vs L.A. Angels, 9:05 p.m. |
| National League |
| Houston vs Cincinnati, 1:10 p.m. |
| St. Louis vs Milwaukee, 2:05 … |
Objectives: There are conflicting data on cancer incidence and mortality in psychiatric patients, although most studies suggest that while cancer mortality is higher, incidence is no different from that in the general population. Different methodologies and outcomes may account for some of the conflicting results. We investigated the association between mental illness and cancer incidence, first admission rates, and mortality in Nova Scotia using a standard methodology.
Method: A population-based record-linkage study of 247 344 patients in contact with primary care or specialist mental health services during 1995 to 2001 was used. Records were linked with cancer registrations and …
Diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Doug Davis decided he wanted to keep pitching until his April 10 operation.
And he said he expects to pitch again soon after that.
"It's going to take me down for a while but not out for good," said Davis, who spoke at a news conference after facing the Colorado Rockies in a Chase Field exhibition Friday night.
"I know I'm not going through this alone," the 32-year-old Davis said. "I know I've got all the help in the world, and I'm definitely optimistic of the outcome."
Davis made his scheduled start in a 12-4 loss to Colorado on Friday night and …
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho must decide whether to risk starstriker Didier Drogba for the clash against Blackburn tomorrow.
The 29-year-old revealed he is "not really fit" afteraggravating a knee problems in the latter stages of the Blues' defeatat Aston Villa almost two weeks ago.
The problem meant the 29-year-old Ivory Coast forward did notfeature for his country over the international break and, despitedescribing it as improving, he is still undergoing treatment.
Meanwhile, Mourinho has challenged his players to return frominternational duty and focus their minds on winning back the PremierLeague title.
A host of Chelsea players were away this …
Dial Press, July 1999, 306 pp., $23.95, ISBN 0-385-31863-4.
Please, Please, Please by Renee Swindle is the kind of story you overhear at the table next to you. This novel reads like a good piece of gossip, intense and dramatic. Somewhere in these pages, the reader slips seamlessly into the world of Babysister, Swindle's protagonist, who will have you either laughing, shaking your head, or commiserating with her every new experience.
This sassy, spoiled, yet vulnerable diva not only knows when to draw the line, she can admit when she crossed it and shouldn't have. But rather than hiding from her mistakes, true to form, Babysister keeps her head high and charges headfirst into …
Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones has been released from federal prison after completing her sentence for lying about her steroid use.
A federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman says Jones was released Friday morning from a halfway house in San Antonio after serving most of her six-month sentence …
Peasedown St John: North East Somerset Arts is running the finaltwo sessions for people to take part in a scheme to make mosaicpigeons in the village.
The public art project will see figures of miners …
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The South Carolina National Guard suspended two high school recruiters in the case of a cheerleading coach charged with giving students beer and the principal accused of trying to conceal it.
Guard spokesman Tripp Hutto said Wednesday the soldiers have not been charged but were placed on leave pending the investigation. He would not give further details about the allegations of misconduct or the soldiers' names and genders.
According to an affidavit from the Greenwood County sheriff's office, the principal knew the cheerleading coach was "participating in a sexual relationship" with a National Guardsman.
Ware Shoals High School cheerleading coach …
United States champion Ryan Hall will again run in the London Marathon.
Organizers said Monday that world half marathon record holder Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya has also joined the April 13 race, with the field already including world champion Luke Kibet, 2004 Olympic winner Stefano Baldini, former world record holder Paul Tergat and defending champion Martin Lel.
"I am delighted that these two highly talented young marathon runners will be part of the London Marathon story in 2008," race director Dave …
England's players are competing for more than pride when they take on Ireland in the Six Nations on Saturday.
Although neither team can win the title after losing two of their four matches, the English players will be trying to prove themselves worthy of a place in a 32-man elite squad set to be announced in the summer.
The Rugby Football Union has reached an eight-year agreement with England's 12 Premiership clubs to free players for international matches and compensate teams with an average year's salary for each.
The lineups for England's fixtures will be selected from that elite roster, putting pressure on players to perform this weekend and clinch one of those berths.
"After this game, when the new agreement between the RFU and the clubs kicks in, there is going to be a lot of money crossing palms and some big decisions will be made," England captain Phil Vickery said. "People need to prove their worth. If they don't, I don't think they're going to be involved."
One of those players seeking to edge their way into the elite squad is Danny Cipriani, who will make his first international start at Twickenham after coach Brian Ashton opted to drop Jonny Wilkinson.
The World Cup-winning flyhalf became international rugby's all-time leading scorer in last weekend's loss at Scotland, but Wilkinson's erratic performances this season led Ashton to hand Cipriani the No. 10 shirt.
Cipriani missed his chance to debut at fullback last week when he was dropped for visiting a nightclub in the lead up to the match, but he now gets a more appropriate chance to prove he could be Wilkinson's heir as the national side's playmaker.
"You can't replace Jonny as a person or player," Cipriani said. "But hopefully I've been selected for the way I play for Wasps, so I don't want to change too much.
"My task is to make the flyhalf jersey my own, but this weekend is about getting a team win and that's what I'll be thinking about."
The change at flyhalf, which could have ended Wilkinson's decade-long stint as first choice, is the only one to the team that was outfought at Murrayfield.
Cipriani has been drafted in to improve the side's decision making and kicking, and Vickery wants the rest of his teammates to justify their inclusion.
"There could have been a case for making massive changes," Vickery said. "We'd have had a better chance of winning against Scotland if we'd never had the ball. If we'd just given it to them and defended all game I think the score would have been closer."
Ireland, though, has its sights set on third place with flyhalf Ronan O'Gara set to lead the team for the first time.
O'Gara is his country's leading scorer and eighth on the all-time test points list. He was handed the captaincy when Brian O'Driscoll was ruled out after he tore his hamstring in last week's 16-12 loss to Wales.
Geordan Murphy will start at fullback after passing a fitness test on his Achilles, allowing Rob Kearney to switch to his regular left wing spot and Tommy Bowe switch back to the right.
Andrew Trimble moves to center in place of O'Driscoll, who will be out for up to four weeks, and Shane Horgan was brought into the midfield.
"There is a sense that beating England will right a lot of the wrongs of this year's Six Nations," Kearney said. "Beating England at Twickenham is a formidable challenge and it's a great achievement when you manage it.
"On paper there's nothing left to play for, but inside we all know there's a huge amount."
The first snowfall of the year was a teaser. It was like licking the beaters without getting to taste the cake. Instead of storms lining up out in the Pacific Ocean to bless us with pow-pow, Mother Nature has given us high pressure. Blue skies and cold temperatures. Perfect chukar hunting conditions.
I've been getting out with the bros lately, chasing the mountain bird that haunts the foothills around Boise. All hunters enjoy the fact that fifteen minutes from the capital city we can find ourselves in prime chukar country.
But because of my frequent jaunts into the rocky, hill country, I have been reminded of how important it is to have a good hunting dog when chasing these wily birds. In the last year and a half I lost both of my dogs. The final reminders of my youth, gone. An unpleasant reality check that adulthood has somehow found its way into my life. Sort of.
I will never fully find myself trapped by the comforts of a "normal life," but it would be nice to have a full-blooded pointer to hold chukars for me in the steep terrain. But one needs a home before one can have a dog. I still find myself stuck in the constant quagmire between rent and living out my car (or my parent's house).
Like a child, a dog takes time and constant attention. Basically a dog needs everything that I can't give right now. A place to live, money for shots and food, training time.
My dad ran Springer Spaniels when I was growing up. Awesome family dogs, a great flushing pheasant dog, and decent with chukars. But I've found myself becoming more and more specialized as I've grown older. Hiking and hunting. That's all I want to do anymore. The steep terrain of the chukar provides a challenge unlike any other bird. And so I would like a dog that is bred to chase these masters of the mountains. But pointers are so hyper. You have to ride them like a wild horse to get them to slow down enough to eat. And they tear up any yard you put them in. A landlord's nightmare.
In the summer your fly rod wouldn't be for fishing any more. The only thing my graphite rod would be used for is to train a pointing dog to point with a feather on the end of the line, giving the dog a little movement with the rod while teaching it to hold birds. Forget fishing.
I can imagine trying to get on the river. Any time I would want to go on an overnighter I would have to get someone to take care of the dog. I can hear the phone conversation.
"Yeah, Barney, could you take care of my dog for a couple of days. It might tear out your fence, dig up your yard and shit all over the place, but other than that it's really well behaved."
Probably wouldn't happen. So I guess I'll resign myself to chasing birds dog-less or with a friend's pup. Maybe I'll have a house of my own someday. Or maybe not.
Today is Monday, May 14, the 134th day of 2007. There are 231 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
Four hundred years ago, on May 14, 1607, English colonists went ashore in Virginia to begin building a permanent settlement, named Jamestown after England's King James I.
On this date:
In 1643, Louis XIV became King of France at age 4 upon the death of his father, Louis XV.
In 1796, English physician Edward Jenner administered the first vaccination against smallpox to 8-year-old James Phipps by using cowpox matter.
In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory left St. Louis.
In 1900, the Olympic games opened in Paris, held as part of the 1900 World's Fair.
In 1942, Congress voted to establish the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps.
In 1948 (according to the current-era calendar), the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv.
In 1973, the United States launched Skylab I, its first manned space station.
In 1975, U.S. forces raided the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and recaptured the American merchant ship Mayaguez. All 40 crew members had already been released safely by Cambodia, but some 40 U.S. servicemen were killed in the military operation.
In 1987, actress Rita Hayworth died in New York at age 68.
In 1998, singer-actor Frank Sinatra died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 82.
Ten years ago: Jurors at the Timothy McVeigh trial in Denver saw chilling black-and-white surveillance pictures of a Ryder truck moving toward the Oklahoma City federal building minutes before a bomb blew the place apart.
Five years ago: NATO and Russia reached a historic agreement to combat common security threats in the post-Sept. 11 era. Former President Jimmy Carter addressed Cubans in an unprecedented hour of live, uncensored television - telling them that their country did not meet international standards of democracy.
One year ago: Mexican President Vicente Fox telephoned President Bush to express his concern about the border between the two nations, a day before Bush's planned Oval Office speech on immigration. Rene Preval was sworn in as Haiti's president for the second time in a decade. Former U.S. poet laureate Stanley Kunitz died in New York at age 100. Aras Baskauskas, a 24-year-old yoga instructor from Santa Monica, Calif., won "Survivor: Panama, Exile Island," the 12th edition of the CBS reality show.
Today's Birthdays: Opera singer Patrice Munsel is 82. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is 65. Rock singer-musician Jack Bruce (Cream) is 64. Movie producer George Lucas is 63. Actress Meg Foster is 59. Rock singer David Byrne is 55. Movie director Robert Zemeckis is 55. Actor Tim Roth is 46. Rock singer Ian Astbury (The Cult) is 45. Rock musician C.C./Cecil DeVille is 45. Actor Danny Huston is 45. Rock musician Mike Inez (Alice In Chains) is 41. Fabrice Morvan (ex-Milli Vanilli) is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singer Raphael Saadiq is 41. Actress Cate Blanchett is 38. Singer Danny Wood (New Kids on the Block) is 38. Movie writer-director Sofia Coppola is 36. Singer Natalie Appleton (All Saints) is 34. Singer Shanice is 34. Rock musician Henry Garza (Los Lonely Boys) is 29. Actress Amber Tamblyn is 24. Actress Miranda Cosgrove is 14.
Thought for Today: "The family you come from isn't as important as the family you're going to have." - Ring Lardner, American humorist (1885-1933).
The Truth about Cat and Dog Diets
People are not the only victims of obesity. Sadly, overweight pets have become a growing problem in the US-one in four is obese, according to the latest research. Andi Brown, author of The Whole Pet Diet (with a foreword by Richard Pitcairn, DVM), reveals the chilling truth about many commercial cat and dog foods and their potential role in pet obesity as well as illness. In this step-by-step guide, Brown introduces animal owners to an eight-week program designed to improve their pets' health with a regimen of whole foods, exercises and supplements like essential fatty acids, vitamin C, chlorella and spirulina. Full of powerful true stories, The Whole Pet Diet makes a convincing case for trading in that processed kibble for organic ingredients and natural pet products. Brown's book is complete with a journal, helpful charts and recipe ideas-plus an entire section on healing common cat and dog conditions such as arthritis, allergies, gum disease and digestive problems.
I. INTRODUCTION
I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you. I would like to go on record as saying that it would warm my wife's heart to hear me introduced as the former chair of the Utah State Tax Commission. Whenever I was at a social event with my wife and was asked, "What do you do?" I would respond, "I am the chairman of the Utah State Tax Commission." In my wife's mind, my position was the medical equivalent of the endowed chair for the venereal diseases. So, she would hope that I would not be asked the next question, which was "What do Tax Commissioners do?" I would give a long dissertation as my wife would fade into the crowd.
Governor Leavitt has been out in front of the Internet taxation issue. If you study what he has written and what he has said, and if you listen to his State of the State address on Monday night,' particularly to what he will say about Internet sales taxation, you will find that his position is the following: The sales tax system in its present form is complex, is burdensome, is in need of repair, and if it cannot be repaired to create levelness and fairness, it should be scrapped. It is his position that any additional revenues generated from the taxation of remote sales should reduce taxes and not be used to expand government. For Governor Leavitt, a level playing field means that all businesses or no businesses collect sales tax and that it is time to simplify and establish fairness in the sales tax system. Thus, the real issue from a tax policy perspective is whether the sales tax is a viable funding vehicle for state and local government in the twenty-first century economy.
My one regret in taking over as Chief of Staff for Governor Leavitt is that I cannot deal with this issue on nearly a full-time basis. It is one of the most intriguing opportunities to simplify and harmonize tax policy in this century.
II. THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNET
Nearly 100 years ago, Alfred Marshall, a British economist, wrote in The Principles of Economics, "The full importance of an epochmaking idea is often not perceived in the generation in which it is made. . . . A new discovery is seldom fully effective, for practical purposes till many minor improvements and subsidiary discoveries have gathered themselves around it."2 Marshall alluded to a phenomenon of new, subsidiary discoveries that follow many major discoveries. As a recent article in The Economist put it:
Who could have imagined, when the first car rolled along a road, how that invention would alter shopping, urban design or courtship? When Faraday experimented with electricity, who foresaw the coming of the skyscraper, its lifts driven by electrical power, or the movement of women into the workplace, their domestic productivity transformed by the washing machine and vacuum cleaner? What connection did anyone make between the arrival of television and the future of Political debate, or of branded goods?3
I believe we are on the threshold of these kinds of subsidiary discoveries in connection with the Internet.
Headlines regarding the Internet suggest that subsidiary discoveries are occurring at a remarkable pace. For example, newspapers are being dissected and unbundled. Newspapers rely upon classified advertising as a main source of revenue. The Internet, however, is also being used for classified advertising, and, as a result, specialized nationwide services are emerging. Newspaper editorial boards, staff, and management are planning their reaction to the Internet's impact on one of their main revenue sources. These subsidiary discoveries present issues that historically have taken more than one career to see through. And yet it is likely that one issue, taxation of remote transactions, will be resolved within the decade.
At this point, it is important to emphasize that the issue is neither the assessment nor the creation of new taxes. This issue relates exclusively to the collection of taxes. The United States Supreme Court has played an important role in establishing which businesses must collect sales tax. In Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, the Court held that a state can only require businesses with a physical presence in that state to collect sales tax.4 The Court therein essentially reiterated its decision in National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of Illinois5 twenty-five years prior. If you compare the relative similarity of the issues presented in Quill and National Belles Hess with the weekly development of the Internet, you quickly realize that we are compressing time at a remarkable rate. Cases in point include AOL's announced merger with Time Warner, AOL's entering into a partnership arrangement with Wal-Mart, and General Motors and Ford's announcement that they will devote tremendous resources to their entry into the Internet.
So, in this remarkable time, changes that Marshall anticipated would occur over a lifetime are occurring within very narrow time frames. It is very exciting. It is within this context that I address what is commonly referred to as the Internet sales tax issue but what is more properly characterized as the taxation of remote sales.
III. THE INTERNET PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO REEVALUATE THE STATE SALES TAX SYSTEM
While it is presently unclear where the Internet will ultimately take us, the Internet presents the unprecedented opportunity to examine, radically simplify, and greatly improve the states' current sales tax system.
As we examine the current sales tax system, we should be clear that the issue is not whether the Internet itself should be taxed. Almost everyone agrees that Internet access, bandwidth, bytes, or bits should not be taxed. Rather, the issue is whether the taxation of sales on the Internet is consistent with the fundamental tax principle of a level playing field, federalism, states' rights, devolution, and the movement toward simplification of the sales tax system.
It is expedient political rhetoric to ask Congress to prohibit a state sales tax on Internet sales under the banner of free trade. Such rhetoric is appealing. What citizen wants to pay what is perceived to be an additional tax? Moreover, what business engaged in ecommerce would willingly forego an aspect of its business that is most appealing to its customers?
Though appealing, exempting sales on the Internet from sales tax does anything but promote free trade. As Governor Leavitt stated, "Free trade means level playing fields, not special advantages. The prohibitionist campaign is an effort to give an unfair competitive advantage to one group of sellers. It is protectionism cloaked as free trade."6 Moreover, asking Congress to prohibit state sales tax on sales on the Internet would strip "the states and local governments of their right to control their own tax policies. Thomas Jefferson would roll over in his grave."7 States and local governments should determine how they will fluid public education, public safety, highway maintenance, and other programs.8 Asking Congress to prohibit states sales tax on sales on the Internet also violates a fundamental principle of the Republican Party: devolution. As Governor Leavitt stated, "Asking Congress to roll over the most important of state roles is a clear invitation for an all-powerful federal government."9 In addition, opposing tax on sales on the Internet does nothing to remedy the overly complicated state sales tax systems currently in place. Finally, those who oppose the taxation of Internet sales increase the appeal of their political rhetoric by characterizing the tax as a revenue protection measure when in fact it is not, as I will explain below.10
Because the political rhetoric against state sales tax on Internet sales is so appealing, politicians who have argued for a level playing field and states' rights have been lambasted in the press. Thus, it is not surprising that most politicians who in fact support state sales tax of sales on the Internet remain behind the scenes and have been unwilling to speak for tax fairness.
IV. THE HISTORY OF SALES TAX
It is helpful to briefly review the history of the sales tax to understand the current remote sales tax issue. The development of the sales tax system in Utah is comparable to the development of sales tax systems throughout the nation.
A. The Obligations the Sales Tax System Imposes Upon Businesses
For the consumer, the sales tax is almost irrelevant. When purchasing an item, the consumer pays one amount that includes both the purchase price and sales tax. From the business perspective, however, the sales tax system imposes various obligations.
The Utah sales tax system developed in the 1930s. It began in a depression era and started out innocently. Sales tax was imposed on the sale of tangible personal property over the counter, and the system imposed upon businesses the obligation of collecting the tax for the state. In Utah, the sales tax commenced at 2 percent and, by the way, remained 2 percent into the 1960s. Businesses originally collected sales tax in the form of aluminum tokens, a smaller denomination than the penny, which was 2 percent of many transactions. The payor would sometimes place the tokens in a jar at the point of sale. It was a very simple process.
The state ultimately imposed on businesses another obligation, such as submitting data to the state to confirm that the business had accurately collected the sales tax. The data collection system started, I believe, innocently enough as well. Its purpose was to reconcile the books of the business with the needs of the state and to ensure that the sales tax was collected accurately and fairly.
The state then imposed a third burden upon businesses. In ef fect, the state told businesses that if they collected sales tax inaccurately, they would be required to make up the difference. As a result, the audit trail that businesses were required to create to justify and validate the accuracy of their sales tax collection became significantly burdensome. AT&T could stand before you and, I believe accurately, tell you that the sales tax system today requires them to file in excess of 39, 600 returns annually, which is one return for every 3.1 minutes of the business day. The burden on small business is proportionally the same.
Accordingly, the sales tax has, through time, become increasingly time consuming, complex, and burdensome. To make matters worse, the sales tax requires businesses to make sales tax-related decisions. If, for example, you live in a state that does not tax medicine, but taxes cosmetics, the purchase of Chapstick becomes problematic. Suppose a sixteen-year-old counter clerk is at the cash register with a customer who wants to buy Chapstick. This sixteen-year-old counter clerk must decide whether the Chapstick is "medicine" or whether it is a "cosmetic." How would reasonable people expect the clerk to know the answer? Would the clerk need to quickly examine the customer and ask, "Do you have chapped lips?" If the customer responded affirmatively, it is possible that the Chapstick purchase is medicinal and, therefore, not taxable because it is being purchased to treat chapped lips. On the other hand, if the customer responds in the negative, then Chapstick is likely a cosmetic and would fall within an entirely different category, and would be taxable.
Given these burdens, businesses have over the course of time shown that they are willing to exert significant efforts in court to avoid shouldering these burdens when there are any circumstances that do not require them to do so.11 One result of these efforts is the United States Supreme Court's holding in National Bellas Hess, reiterated in Quill, that a state cannot require an out-of state retailer with no physical presence in the state to collect sales or use tax from residents of the state who purchase the out-of state retailer's products.12 The physical presence test is the standard by which states require businesses to collect sales tax, and it plays a major role in the remote sale issue generally and in the Internet sale issue specifically.
B. Avoiding Sales Tax
In the 1930s, people discovered that they could avoid paying sales tax by simply buying the same goods in another state that did not impose sales tax. In response, the forty-six states that collect sales tax now impose a use tax. Use tax is a tax upon goods purchased for consumption or use in the purchaser's state of residence and for which the purchaser has not paid sales tax. Taxpayers are required to self accrue this tax. It is a tax that by law should be reported and paid. Businesses pay use tax regularly in business to business transactions and are subject to audit.
As Professor Hellerstein mentioned in his address, however, few individuals comply. Of the eight hundred and seventy thousand individual returns filed with the state of Utah last year, only 3,619 Utahns filed for the use tax. This is less than one-half of 1 percent. Certainly, this figure does not accurately reflect the number of people who actually purchased goods on a remote basis. Most of those who do not remit this tax are simply unaware of the obligation to do so. In fact, I must confess that it was not until I became a Commissioner of the Tax Commission that I began to pay use tax. My wife still does not understand why I pay use tax. When she asks, "Why," I respond, "If you stuck with me longer at the social events, you would know what I do for a living and know that this is a tax we owe!" If the State could appoint more people as Commissioners, even if temporarily, I am persuaded that we could more quickly increase the number of persons who pay use tax that they already owe!
C. The Erosion of the Tax Base
The first erosion of the tax base occurred when citizens began to purchase goods in states that did not impose a sales tax, as discussed above. Despite the implementation of the use tax, the tax base has continued to erode, some of the causes for which have been natural and non-legislative. One cause of erosion has been the natural shift in our economy from manufacturing to service. Because few services are taxable, this shift in the economy has resulted in fewer taxable transactions in the marketplace. Another nonlegislative cause of erosion was the advent of catalog sales. The states' effort to require businesses selling products by catalog to collect sales tax has been unsuccessful, as discussed above.13
The tax base has been further eroded by legislative changes that exempt certain items, individuals, or institutions from the sales tax. The legislature makes policy decisions in response to requests for exemptions. An example is prescription medicine, which is exempt in Utah. If the legislature agrees that the item (prescription drugs, for example), individual (such as farmers), or institution (such as charitable organizations) should be exempt, that item, individual, or institution is removed from the tax base. Since the 1960s, the Utah State legislature has exempted nearly fifty items, individuals, or institutions from the sales tax.
As the economic and market shifts and legislative changes eroded the sales tax base, sales tax rates have necessarily increased in order to adequately fund the fundamental operations of state and local government. And as sales tax rates have increased, the incentives for noncompliance or to seek an exemption have also increased.
The erosion of the sales tax base means that fewer people are paying sales tax at an increasing rate. In Utah, for example, the sales tax rate has grown from 2 percent to 6.35 percent in some jurisdictions. This trend will continue unless erosion of the sales tax base is curbed. If it is not, fewer and fewer people will continue to pay a higher sales tax rate. Basic tax policy calls for broad bases and lower rates. Whenever the State grants an exemption, the State has made a policy decision to prefer one taxpayer or product over another. This temptation to exempt taxpayers and products has created a system filled with inequity and tainted with special interest. While strong economies and increasing sales tax rates have masked the problems of the sales tax, the projected volume of business conducted on the Internet will only exacerbate the problems.
V. TAXING REMOTE SALES
When you enter any wilderness park in the West, you receive a brochure. The brochure describes how you should react if you encounter a bear. The brochure tells you to keep your pack on, to make yourself big, to wave your arms, to speak loudly, to back away slowly, and to avoid running from the bear. If the bear attacks, the brochure instructs you to assume the fetal position and protect your vital organs. I submit to you that right now many constituents are making themselves big, waving their arms, and speaking loudly. But, in a very short time, I submit, some of these same constituents will be assuming the fetal position and protecting their vital organs.
The following is an examination of the remote sales tax issue from a variety of perspectives, since perspective ultimately determines one's position on sales tax on remote sales.
A. Businesses with Total Nexus
Some businesses have nexus everywhere. That is, some businesses have a physical presence in most, if not all, states. These businesses are the Barnes & Nobles and the Wal-Marts of the world. They face the development of the Internet in an interesting posture. Ideally, businesses with total nexus want all businesses, bricks-and-mortar and Internet alike, to be in the "tax club." But, because all businesses are not in the "tax club," the total nexus businesses have decided to employ marketing strategies that allow them to take advantage of the benefits afforded those not in the "tax club."
From a marketing perspective, synchronous marketing would seem to be superior, but the current law on such remote sales has created an environment where businesses are driven to create strange configurations. When Gateway Computer began selling computers remotely, it initially collected sales tax on those sales. As Gateway has evolved into a bricks-and-mortar business, however, it has done an about face and has concluded that it will market its products through two separate entities because it is now competing with Dell, who does not collect sales tax because they, like Land's End, have nexus in only one state. Likewise, Wal-Mart has indicated that they will create entity isolation by establishing a separate Internet entity. They too will only collect sales tax from residents in those states where the separate entity maintains a warehouse or other place of business. Wal-Mart happens to maintain a warehouse in Utah; so, according to their business plan, they will collect sales tax from Utah residents.
In summary, the current sales tax system encourages total nexus businesses to play the nexus game in order to compete with those businesses with nexus in one or a few states so long as there is no obligation to collect sales tax on remote sales.
B. Businesses with Limited Nexus
What about the Amazon.coms of the world? There have been some interesting changes. Amazon.com, for example, started out in the state of Washington and collected sales tax only on sales to residents of Washington. But, over time, Amazon has begun to branch out, creating more distribution points in more states, thereby increasing the number of states in which it has nexus. Perhaps, in the end, the Amazon.coms of the world will evolve into total nexus businesses and those total nexus businesses that created separate Internet entities to avoid nexus will merge back into the bricks-andmortar entities for marketing purposes. At present, however, businesses that have limited nexus enjoy a significant tax advantage to the extent they sell products to residents of states with which they do not have nexus. Moreover, these businesses do not bear the burden of collecting sales tax. It is safe to say that businesses with limited nexus will continue to oppose a sales tax on remote sales until they no longer benefit from this configuration.
C. Local Businesses
What about the independent downtown retailers and other local businesses? Many of these businesses claim to be hanging on by their fingernails as their customers turn to the Internet. Thus, local businesses are petitioning state governments, the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce (the "Advisory Commission"), and anyone else they can, for a level playing field. These businesses are arguing that they cannot compete with the Amazon.coms who not only use volume to cut prices but do not collect sales tax (an additional six to seven percent advantage). If we are to believe experts like Lester Thurow of the Sloan School of Business at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, half of the retail stores, many of which are found in downtowns, will disappear by the year 2010.(14) Whether Mr. Thurow is accurate or not, it is a sobering thought. Will the Internet taxation issue change the landscape of our retail business, some of which have been in business for years I offer the following example to suggest that it will.
I have two favorite bookstores, both of which are in downtown Salt Lake City: Sam Weller's and The King's English. When you ask an employee at either of these stores about books, they can recommend books that they have actually read. They can converse with you about the author and about the substance of the book. Unfortunately, however, both stores would tell you that the megastores, the stores offered subsidies in redevelopment projects, and now the e-tailers have had a dramatic negative impact on their business. They would also tell you that the Internet may ultimately put them out of business.
From a communitarian's point of view, keeping in mind the unique flavors of a downtown, an argument can also be made that the Internet will change the character of our downtowns if a level playing field is not achieved for the bricks-and-mortar businesses. I am not suggesting that local businesses should be protected by way of tax incentives. But, conversely, the question remains whether granting a subsidy to e-tailers while denying a similar subsidy to local bricks-and-mortar business is fair. Clearly, the local bricks-andmortar businesses favor the collection of sales tax on remote sales in order to create a level playing field.
D. Local Governmental Entities
Increasingly, local governmental entities have become dependent upon the sales tax. Like state governments with sales tax systems, local governments fear that they will have to alter the tax structure if the sales tax system fails to generate expected revenues. Altering the tax structure may require increasing income and property tax rates, an unappealing prospect to all affected. Like local bricks-and-mortar businesses, local governmental entities favor collecting sales tax on remote sales.
VI. THE POLITIcAL RESPONSE
The few politicians that have addressed Internet taxation and argued for a level playing field have quickly learned that the media will report this argument as an attempt at revenue protection. Such an interpretation of this argument is absolute, 100 percent bunk.
If states eliminate sales tax (as is the case in four states) or the sales tax system fails to generate sufficient revenue as business moves to the Internet, states will find some other revenue source to finance state and local government. The question is not whether a state will lose revenue if the sales tax system is eliminated, as some have characterized the issue. Rather, the question is what revenue streams the state will tap into to sustain state and local governments. If, in fact, sales on the Internet continue to increase without requiring the collection of sales tax, state and local governments will turn to alternative revenue sources. This would present very interesting policy issues.
I do not believe there is such thing as a preferred or "most congenial" tax. We are all concerned about taxes. But, when you compare the alternatives to taxing sales on the Internet-increasing income or property tax, for example-most tax scholars and most taxpayers would agree that including sales on the Internet in the sales tax system is rather appealing. People are not anxious to hear talk of raising property taxes; nor are they anxious to hear talk of raising income and other taxes. Thus, those who argue for the status quo do not fully understand the dilemma. The status quo is unacceptable. Either we rework the sales tax system for the twenty-first century or we do away with it altogether.
Politicians are not positioned to resolve this issue, and it is becoming evident that it will be resolved in the marketplace by the big players-Wal-Mart, JCPenney, The Gap, Circuit City, etc.-as they enter the Internet. Lou Gerstner, chief executive officer of IBM, recently stated, "The storm that's arriving ... is when the thousands and thousands of institutions that exist today seize the power of this global computing and communications infrastructure and use it to transform themselves. That's the real revolution."15 I absolutely agree. Wal-Mart, for example, by putting together mergers, creating partnerships, and forming strategic alliances, created a formidable force with which not only to sell goods on the Internet, but to distribute those goods to people in remarkable ways. When Wal-Mart brings its significant financial resources to the Internet, it will change the way the game is played, as will Circuit City, The Gap, Sears, and others. This is the next iteration that Alfred Marshall referenced as a subsidiary discovery. Thus, as the Internet becomes the new market place, as Mr. Gerstner suggests it will,16 the Internet will perpetuate and amplify the complexities and flaws of the sales tax system.
A story may illustrate this point. There were two men in a bar. The first man asked the second, "Hey, sounds like you've got an Irish accent. Are you from Ireland?" The second man replied, "Yes, I am." The first man then asked, "Where are you from?" The second man replied, "I'm from Dublin." To which the first man responded, "No kidding, so am L" The first man then asked, "Where did you grow up?" And, the second man replied, "Well, I grew up on Cathedral Street." The first man inquired further, "Down by the mall or up by the cathedral?" The second man answered, "I was closer to the mall." The first man exclaimed, "I'll be darned. I was, too. I was right down in the same neighborhood as you. Where did you go to school?" The second man answered, "I went to St. Mary's." To which the first man replied, "You're kidding me. I went there, too. When did you graduate?" The second man answered, "1978." The first man, in amazement, exclaimed, "We were classmates. I graduated in 1978, too." At that point, another man walked into the bar and asked the bartender how things are going. The bartender replied, "Fine. Oh, the O'Malley twins are drunk again."
I believe that this is the kind of rhetoric the Internet taxation issue is receiving in politics. It is easy for a politician to observe, like the bartender, that the Internet poses new sales tax issues and argue for an exemption to resolve those issues rather than accurately assess the issues, identify the consequences of sustaining the status quo, and constructively resolve those issues. Put another way, it is easier for a politician to support the appealing position of no Internet taxation by making themselves big, waving their arms, and speaking loudly than to carefully consider the long-term implications of maintaining the status quo.
The events that have transpired at the Advisory Commission have been quite remarkable to watch. The National Tax Association Ecommerce and Telecommunications Project (the "NTA Project"), in which I participated with Professor McClure and Professor Hellerstein, consisted of business representatives, government representatives, and scholars who met over the course of a couple years and discussed the impact and circumstances surrounding taxation of Internet transactions. It was a privilege to participate in the NTA Project. The project raised the level of discussion on sales tax issues, but business and government struggled to resolve the issues together because their views and perspectives were so diverse. But, the parties proved quite resilient and produced an excellent report that identified the seriousness and scope of the problem. The report was passed along to the Advisory Commission,17 which has convened and invited public participation by submitting proposals. The criteria by which the Advisory Commission will examine those proposals are the following:
[A.] Simplification
1. How does this proposal fundamentally simplify the existing system of sales tax collection...?
2. How does this proposal define, distinguish, and propose to tax information, digital goods, and services provided electronically over the Internet?
3. How does this proposal protect against onerous and/or multiple audits?
[B.] Taxation
1. Does this proposal impose any taxes on Internet access or new taxes on Internet sales?
2. Does this proposal leave the net tax burden on consumers unchanged?
3. Does the proposal impose any tax, licensing or reporting requirement, collection obligation or other obligation or fee on parties other than those with a physical presence in a particular state or political subdivision?
4. What features of the proposal will impact the revenue base of federal, state, and local governments?
[C.] Burden on Sellers
1. Does this proposal remove the financial, logistical, and administrative compliance burdens of sales and use tax collections from Sellers?
2. Does the proposal include any special provisions with respect to small, medium-sized, or start-up businesses?
[D.] Discrimination
1. Does the proposal treat purchasers of like products or services in as like a manner as possible through the implementation of a policy or system that does not discriminate on the basis of how people buy?
2. Does the proposal discriminate against out-of state or remote vendors or among different categories of such vendors?
[E.] International
1. How does this proposal affect U.S. global competitiveness and the ability of U.S. businesses to compete in a global marketplace?
2. Can this proposal be scaled to the international level?
3. How does this proposal conform to international tax systems, including those that are based on source rather than destination? Is this proposal harmonized with the tax systems of America's trading partners?
[F.] Technology
1. Is the proposal technologically feasible utilizing widely available software to enable tax collection?
2. If so, what are the initial costs and the costs for required updates, and who is to bear those costs?
[G.] Privacy
1. Does the proposal protect the privacy of purchasers?
[H.] Sovereignty/Local Government Autonomy
2. Does this proposal respect the sovereignty of states and Native Americans?
3. How does this proposal treat local governments' autonomy and their ability to raise a greater or lesser amount of revenues depending on the needs and desires of their citizens?
[I.] Constitutional
1. Is the proposal constitutional?18
The "Big Seven," a group of government associations which include the National Governors' Association, the National Association of the League of Cities and Towns, the national Council of Mayors, and others, submitted a proposal to the Advisory Commission.19 Professor Hellerstein spoke about this proposal, which is to streamline the sales tax system for the twenty-first century. The proposal seeks to remove the seller's burden in collecting and accounting for sales tax. Many people would read Quill to say that the Internet taxation issue cannot be solved by the Advisory Commission and that it can only be solved by Congress.20 The proposal, however, objectively looks at Quill and National Bellas Hess as a roadmap rather than as a blockade. That is, the proposal seized the opportunity to respond to the Court's concern in Quill and National Bellas Hess that it was too burdensome to require remote sellers to collect sales tax and proposed a simplified sales tax system.21
The streamlined sales tax proposal incorporates a "real-time" tax system. The system adds an additional step to the typical credit card transaction. In a credit card transaction, the seller retains the amount of the sale less the percentage of the sale that goes to the appropriate credit card companies that process the transaction. Real-time tax would permit a third party to also automatically deduct from the seller's amount the sales tax due on the sale. The third party would collect the tax, provide the data associated with the tax, transmit the tax to the appropriate state, and be subject to audit. The question is whether technology can support it. This is a debatable proposition, but there are enough people who have come forward to suggest that the technology does exist and that it is worth exploring. I have spent a fair amount of time with those familiar with the technology and believe that the real-time tax system is a viable possibility if there is an incentive and opportunity to develop the system.
One of the most critical aspects of the proposed streamlined sales tax system is that it requires states to simplify their sales tax system as a prerequisite for participating in the system. There are those in the economic community that believe that the Internet needs time to develop. Most economists and scholars, however, are persuaded that requiring the collection of taxes on Internet transactions is inevitable and that at some point it will be necessary for businesses to collect sales tax. Accordingly, the streamlined sales tax proposal supports the status quo for three to five years as the states develop simplified and workable sales tax systems, the Internet develops, and market forces continue to shape the Internet.
I believe this issue will evolve as follows. The Advisory Commission meets in March and will attempt to put together a final proposal. Given the composition of the committee and the number and breadth of proposals presently before it, it is unlikely that the Advisory Commission will achieve a focused solution to the problem. Because the issue is complex and resolution will require a significant amount of effort, it may simply be too difficult to reach consensus. While there is optimism in developing a system based on common principles that may unite this group, the Advisory Commission bears an onerous burden, and it is unfair to expect the Advisory Commission to produce a proposal that no other group has been able to produce to date.
During the balance of this congressional term, the legislature will likely consider some legislation, but, for a number of reasons, not the least of which that this is an election cycle, I do not believe that Congress will pass legislation this session.
Next Christmas I believe we will see an amplification of what happened this Christmas. The growth of Internet sales will increase at a rate that will astound us. I believe even those who predicted increased Internet sales for this past Christmas grossly underestimated what actually occurred. There were fairly consistent updates of Christmas sales data that suggested that sales would be much higher than was predicted. If we go through a couple more Christmas cycles where downtown retailers, mall associations, and the Wal-Marts of the world continue to collect sales tax under the current system, bricks-and-mortar retailers will weigh in with demands for a level playing field. This will include bricks-and-mortar retailers who have not yet made their voices heard on the issue. When these retailers come forward, the solutions will begin to take shape as the problem is solved in the marketplace.22
VII. CONCLUSION
If states simplify their sales tax systems during the next three to five years and successfully expand the duty to collect sales tax on remote sales, I am hopeful that the states' sales tax systems will be fair and operate on a level playing field. Moreover, states' rights will be protected, and states will not have to turn to other sources of revenue to finance state and local government.
If, on the other hand, the states do not salvage the sales tax system at the end of this period (and Professor Hellerstein stated that he was not optimistic that they could), I believe that states will, under the same arguments of fairness, have no alternative but to eliminate the sales tax and consider other sources of revenue. If states do so, most of those who made themselves big, waived their arms, and spoke loudly will out of necessity assume the fetal position and protect their vital organs as they suffer the consequences of a system unfavorable to their particular business structure. There is no way to predict with certainty how this issue will be resolved, but one thing is clear: the ultimate decision should, at its conclusion, reflect sound tax policy and a level playing field. No form of business should be preferred and no unnecessary impediment to business should be permitted. What this suggests is that the level playing field will require sales tax to be collected by all sellers or not to be collected at all.
[Author Affiliation]
Rich McKeown*
[Author Affiliation]
* Rich McKeown is the Chief of Staff for Utah Governor Michael O. Leavitt. The author would like to thank Marc Porter for his assistance in preparing this article for publication.
The St. Regis Mohawk tribe will set up its own tribal electric utility.
Tribe members approved creation of their own electric utility by a margin of 445-102 during tribal elections Saturday.
It will cost about $13.7 million to build a power plant and distribution system on the reservation, which borders the U.S.-Canadian border in northern New York. The tribe would also have to pay National Grid a $4.3 million exit fee.
Mohawk leaders say running their own power plant will result in lower delivery rates immediately and protect the tribe from future rate increases while enhancing its sovereignty. About 11,000 residents live on the New York side of the reservation.
The Mohawks are joining at least nine other tribes who operate their own public utilities.
Antonio Dos Santos
Age 31. Attorney (Associate), Robinson Donovan
Tony Dos Santos can draw a number of parallels between winning public office and building a la, practice. And he should know - he's an associate at Springfieldbased Robinson Donovan and a selectman in his hometown of Ludlow.
Success in both realms comes down, in part, to contacts, he explained, noting that having friends and family in Ludlow and acquaintances that go back to grade school and Little League helped him become the top vote-getter among candidates for selectman during the election of 2006. Similarly, contacts can help an attorney grow a client list, and this was the reason he returned to the Pioneer Valley after working in Hartford upon graduation from law school.
But having contacts alone isn't enough - both in law and town government, he said, adding that, with regard to both constituencies he serves, listening is a required talent, as is looking out for the clients' long-term interests. Dos Santos has been doing that since he launched his career in law - something he always envisioned himself doing - in 1999.
When he made the move from Hartford to Springfield and Robinson Donovan, he became a memorable part of the firm's new advertising campaign. In a play on words, the advertisement announcing his arrival focused on the fact that he no longer had a commute, and said he had "lots of talent, but no drive." He's still taking some ribbing on that spot, but it has greatly subsided.
When he's not working or serving his community as selectman - the latter requires often long hours and work ranging from budget meetings to ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new businesses - Dos Santos likes to play golf. He's an 18-handicapper who plays mostly at Ludlow Country Club, which is also a business client (again, connections). And he knows he had better get some rounds in now, because he and his wife, Shelley, are expecting their second child in August.
Dos Santos said there is talk of changing the governmental structure in Ludlow, with one option being a move toward a mayor, a step taken by many area communities. What such a development might mean for his political career, he's not sure. He's focused on today and on making more of those connections he spoke of.
| National Football League | |
| No games today. | |
| National Basketball Association | |
| Orlando 90, Indiana 86 | F |
| Charlotte 123, Phoenix 105 | F |
| Dallas 98, Atlanta 93 | F |
| Memphis 97, Miami 95 | F |
| San Antonio 116, Cleveland 92 | F |
| Oklahoma City 82, Milwaukee 81 | F |
| Denver 107, New Jersey 103 | F |
| Utah 103, Portland 94 | F |
| New York 124, L.A. Clippers 115 | F |
| National Hockey League | |
| Florida 4, N.Y. Islanders 1 | F |
| Los Angeles 4, Boston 3 (SO Los Angeles 1-0) | F 2OT |
| Nashville 2, Carolina 1 (SO Nashville 2-1) | F 2OT |
| Philadelphia 5, Washington 4 (SO Philadelphia 1-0) | F 2OT |
| Tampa Bay 2, Buffalo 1 | F |
| Montreal 2, Toronto 0 | F |
| Colorado 4, Dallas 3 (SO Colorado 2-1) | F 2OT |
| St. Louis 3, New Jersey 2 | F |
| N.Y. Rangers 5, Minnesota 2 | F |
| Chicago 7, Vancouver 1 | F |
| Columbus 3, San Jose 0 | F |
| Top 25 College Football | |
| LSU (5) 43, Mississippi 36 | F |
| Wisconsin (6) 48, Michigan 28 | F |
| Stanford (7) 48, California 14 | F |
| Ohio St. (8) 20, Iowa (21) 17 | F |
| Texas A&M (18) 9, Nebraska (9) 6 | F |
| Michigan St. (11) 35, Purdue 31 | F |
| Oklahoma St. (12) 48, Kansas 14 | F |
| Arkansas (13) 38, Mississippi St. (22) 31 | F 2OT |
| Virginia Tech (14) 31, Miami (24) 17 | F |
| Missouri (15) 14, Iowa St. 0 | F |
| Oklahoma (16) 53, Baylor 24 | F |
| South Carolina (17) 69, Troy 24 | F |
| Nevada (19) 52, New Mexico St. 6 | F |
| Oregon St. 36, Southern Cal (20) 7 | F |
| Utah (25) 38, San Diego St. 34 | F |
| Top 25 College Basketball | |
| Ohio St. (4) 81, UNC Wilmington 41 | F |
| Villanova (6) 86, Lafayette 41 | F |
| Missouri (15) 96, North Florida 58 | F |
| Butler (16) 88, Ball St. 55 | F |
| BYU (23) 109, Chicago St. 60 | F |
| San Diego St. (25) 79, Wis.-Green Bay 70 | F |
| Top 25 Women's College Basketball | |
| Texas A&M (8) 80, Rice 40 | F |
| Iowa (22) 87, Northeastern 59 | F |
| Major League Soccer Playoffs | |
| No games today. |
A glitch that subjected two Russian cosmonauts and Malaysia's first space traveler to a rough trip back to Earth was caused by a faulty cable, according to a news agency report Tuesday citing the head of a spacecraft manufacturer.
RIA-Novosti reported that an inquiry revealed that the incident in October had been caused by a damaged control cable. The news agency quoted Vitaly Lopota, the director of the state RKK Energiya company, which is Russia's top spacecraft manufacturer.
The Soyuz landing capsule carrying Russians cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov, and Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, of Malaysia, went down on a steeper-than-usual descent trajectory, the so-called ballistic descent. It subjected the crew to 8.5 times the force of gravity instead of the usual four times the force of gravity.
"It felt like an elephant pressing on my chest, but the Russians trained us very well" to handle a rough descent, Sheikh Muszaphar said shortly after the landing Oct. 21.
Medical tests showed the three cosmonauts were not injured during the descent, but it took them slightly longer than usual to adapt to Earth conditions.
Lopota said that RKK Energiya has taken steps to prevent such incidents in the future.
Homogeneous-Charge Compression-Ignition may be the answer.
It sounds too good to be true: significantly higher fuel economy, greatly reduced NO^sub X^ and paniculate emissions, and the ability to run on today's fuels. Homogeneous-charge, compression-ignition (HCCI) engines combine the very best gasoline and diesel engine properties. This alternative combustion process, which uses lean mixtures ignited without a spark or flame front, has been under study for more than 25 years. The late Smokey Yunick touted his version of this technology in the pages of Popular Science magazine more than 20 years ago. Momentum behind HCCI research is now building so rapidly that every major engine manufacturer and a consortium of five engineering schools backed by Department of Energy funding are pursuing this path to low emissions and high fuel economy. Powertrain experts believe HCCI could be the internal combustion engine's last gasp before fuel cells take over.
More than a dozen different names have been used to describe what is now called HCCI. In 1979, engineers at the Nippon Clean Engine Research Institute in Japan perfected a cleaner, more efficient two-stroke using what they labeled Active Thermo-Atmosphere Combustion for use in a 14-horsepower portable generator. Concurrently, Toyota engineers determined through spectroscopic analysis that HCCI chemistry and ignition were fundamentally different from the normal spark-ignition combustion process. Both were more reminiscent of what would be seen in conventional engine experiencing auto-ignition (detonation). Smokey Yunick called his approach hot vapor injection.
Gasoline HCCI
Like the name says, fuel and air are well mixed throughout every region of the cylinder. Time-lapse photos taken through a window in the combustion chamber reveal no localized high-temperature flame front; instead, there are hundreds of evenly distributed specks of light with HCCI, indicating spontaneous combustion of the entire charge. High exhaust-gas dilution and lean mixtures greatly reduce peak temperatures and heat-transfer losses. The extra EGR also facilitates running the engine virtually unthrottled, minimizing pumping losses. Thermal efficiency gains come from squeezing peak combustion temperatures into a narrow window timed for maximum energy release during the expansion stroke. The potential is diesel-engine fuel efficiency - 15-20 percent gains over today's gasoline engines - with NO^sub X^ emissions so low that reduction-catalyst after-treatment is unnecessary.
Unfortunately, HCCI works better in theory than in practice. Achieving sufficient thermal energy late in the compression stroke to trigger auto-ignition consistently is the most serious challenge. The diesel approach of using a high compression ratio was an obvious avenue for investigation but researchers quickly discovered that ratios beyond 12:1 cause severe knock during full-load operation. Other concerns are excessive rates of pressure rise and the combustion-generated noise associated with too-high compression. Today, there's agreement that elevated compression ratios are not well suited to smooth HCCI operation.
A more practical avenue is using high levels of EGR to supply the desired thermal energy. A strategy called recompression traps exhaust in the cylinder by closing the exhaust valve early. Another approach called rebreathing captures exhaust after it has left the cylinder. The intake valve can be opened briefly during the exhaust stroke, the exhaust valve can be opened slightly during the intake stroke, or exhaust can be recycled by simply postponing the exhaust valve closing. Researchers have investigated all of the above possibilities, including mixes of recompression and rebreathing; many have been proved effective.
Achieving the necessary homogeneous fuel-air charge is relatively easy using early injection of the fuel into the intake port to maximize the time available for mixing prior to combustion. But researchers also discovered that late injection directly into the chamber is the best means of triggering combustion without a spark Direct injection avoids premature ignition, thereby facilitating a higher compression ratio. Varying the injection timing during the compression stroke is also an effective means of balancing the amount of NO^sub X^ versus HC and CO emissions produced.
Several fuel-injection schedules have been investigated. Injecting fuel into retained and compressed exhaust gasses prior to the intake stroke commences the chemical activity that results in auto-ignition at the end of the compression stroke. A secondary fuel injection event has also been used to trigger combustion, though emission levels suffered with this method. Trying every possible avenue, experimenters have even used a spark plug to initiate a flame that bums a portion of the charge which in turn drives the remainder into auto-ignition. Results were mixed with this strategy. Mitsubishi engineers experimented with a 6-stroke gasoline engine using two combustion processes: a stratified ultra-lean combustion triggered a second HCCI combustion phase. NO^sub X^ reductions and fuel efficiency were good but the operating range was limited to light-load conditions.
Unfortunately, power density is lower with HCCI than with gasoline engines running with stoichiometric air-fuel ratios. But the greater unsolved problem is that HCCI operation is not yet possible during engine warm-up, at very light loads, and at idle because exhaust energy is too low to trigger auto-ignition during these conditions. A second concern is that peak combustion temperatures well below the threshold of NO^sub X^ formation result in incomplete oxidation of the fuel and air. As a result, HC and CO emissions can be 50 percent higher than today's spark-ignited gasoline engines. A third dilemma is exhaust temperatures too low for proper catalytic converter function.
Full-load operation is also problematic. With spontaneous combustion occurring very late in the compression stroke over very few degrees of crankshaft rotation, peak rates of pressure rise and engine noise are intolerably high. Internal components can be damaged by excessive loads. Extending HCCI operation into die full-load regime has not yet been possible.
To stretch the range where HCCI is practical for gasoline engines, researchers are attacking several fronts. Stop-start operation is one way of avoiding the troublesome idle mode. Cylinder shutdown shortens the time the engine operates lightly loaded. Pulse-flame jets are under investigation as a means of controlling combustion timing.
Diesel HCCI
HCCI research lor diesel-fueled engines began a decade ago with emphasis on NO^sub X^ and particulate matter (PM) reductions. As is the case with HCCI gas engines, auto-ignition occurs at multiple points throughout the combustion chamber. Emission reductions come from burning a homogeneous mixture of diesel fuel and air at lower than normal temperatures. Typically combustion begins below 2000 degrees F and ends before constituents reach 3000 degrees F avoiding the 3500 degree F threshold of NO^sub X^ formation.
Successful diesel HCCI operation depends on a precise thermal balance. High temperature intake air is necessary because dliesel fuel is slow to vaporize. But since auto-ignition temperatures are relatively low, it's difficult keeping a hot, compressed mixture from lighting off prematurely.
Three means of combining fuel with air have been investigated. Fuel can be injected into the intake manifold. Mixing prior to auto-ignition can also be achieved by direct injection well before top dead center. A third approach is later than normal injection with high levels of EGR used to postpone combustion. A fourth strategy is to use water injection to slow the temperature rise in the combustion chamber, thereby delaying ignition until the charge is well mixed.
Experiments with premixing have successfully cut NO^sub X^ emissions by a factor of 100. Unfortunately, fuel economy losses are so significant that this is not a fruitful avenue for further research.
Mitsubishi engineers had better luck with early direct injection and supercharging: 90 percent NO^sub X^ reductions, minimal smoke and fuel consumption similar to a normally aspirated diesel with retarded timing.
Nissan introduced a late direct-injection HCCI-like diesel for sale to Japanese customers in 1998. High swirl intake ports and a tortoidal combusuon bowl facilitate rapid fuel and air mixing. NO^sub X^ emissions and noise are both substantially reduced by HCCI operation up to one-third peak torque and half maximum speed.
Toyota engineers have achieved HCCI combustion up to half-load and half-speed in another diesel engine offered for sale since 2000. This engine combines early and late injection to achieve low smoke and reduced NO^sub X^ emissions.
Ongoing Research
Experts Fuquan Zhao, Thomas Asmus, Dennis Assanis, John Dec, James Eng and Paul Najt concluded in their Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engines - Key Research and Development Issues book published in 2003 by SAE, "While making the HCCI process occur is rather straightforward, making it occur at an appropriate time in an engine cycle over a wide range of operating conditions is extremely difficult." GM's Paul Najt, a pioneer in HCCI research, explains, "This combustion concept could reach fruition in 6-12 years in a viable engine design. The trick will be coming up with the right set of engine sensors, control software and variable actuation pieces and parts to manage the four-stroke combustion process through a broader range of speeds and loads."
To move HCCI out of the lab and onto the road, dual-mode engines will probably be necessary. That will permit blending the benefits of this alternative combustion process with conventional operation for those regimes were HCCI is less beneficial and/or impractical. Research indicates that direct injection and low compression ratios will facilitate mode switching.
In the diesel category, HCCI can eliminate the need for NO^sub X^ and PM aftertreatment during fight-load operation. During high loads, the exhaust can be routed through appropriate traps and reduction catalysts. Oxidation catalysts will still be necessary in both gas and diesel engines for HC and CO mitigation.
The University of Michigan's professor Dennis Assanis, who directs a multi-university HCCI research consortium, expects dual-mode engines to appear soon. He notes, "HCCI is a nearer alternative than the fuel cell. The HCCI engine can bum all fuels, including hydrogen." So perhaps IC engines aren't quite ready to go the way of buggy whips after all.
For additional information on this subject, see SAE publication PT-94 "Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) Engines."
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry is attacking President Barack Obama's jobs plan as a second stimulus plan that won't put Americans back to work.
Obama's plan includes some tax cuts, and Perry was asked whether he would oppose them. Perry instead says Obama's plan would raise taxes.
Perry is also comparing the American Jobs Act with the stimulus package passed in 2009. He says that bill created no jobs and says the new package would create "zero jobs."
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said last year that the stimulus increased the number of people employed by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million as of mid-2010. The CBO says the package cut the unemployment rate between 0.7 and 1.8 percentage points.
Perry's comments came as Republicans sparred during Monday night's debate.
It's near midnight at the edge of town. One of your drivers, fully loaded and rolling into town, makes the mistake of using his air brake. Everyone he disturbed knows whose truck it is -- after all, who else hauls into town at this hour-and they're not happy about it.
Despite driver education, this scenario happens more than it should. But now there's something you can do about it. A fleet manager for a mass merchandiser is using Donaldson's new Silent Partner to help improve the image of his company, his fleet and the trucking industry.
It makes us a good neighbour and a good partner on the road. That's what Herman Miller says about the new Donaldson Silent Partner silencer. As one of the first to operate Silent Partner-equipped vehicles on a day-to-day basis, his experience offers a valuable insight into the real world behaviour and benefits of this new approach to vehicle noise control.
For Miller, the issue of vehicle noise in general -- and engine brake noise in particular -- is important on several levels. The first, and one that the forest industry is most sensitive to, is image. "The name of our store is in 30-foot letters along the side of our trailers," Miller points out. "So everything our trucks do affects the image of our store with people who are potential customers. That's why being a good neighbour on the road really matters to us." But it's difficult to be a good neighbour when conditions force your rigs to make loud, harsh engine braking noises. As Miller explains, "When you're going through a little mountain town at 3 o'clock on a still, clear night, putting on the Jake Brake can rattle windows miles away. That's not the sort of thing you want people to associate with your name when you're a mass merchandiser."
Nor when you're trying to garner public support for your local logging or sawmilling operation.
Safety also a factor
Engine braking noise control is important to Miller for another reason, one that has to do with keeping operations as safe as possible. His fleet travels an area that stretches from Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean, and from the Canadian border down to 1-80. This territory encompasses some of the most mountainous routes in North America, roads where the greater control and safety of engine brakes are critical. Miller says that, "with the weight limits we run, there are times when we need and want more brake than we get from the service units." In fact, Miller instructs his drivers to rely solely on engine brakes whenever possible on downgrades, so that the vehicle's regular service brakes will be at full effectiveness if needed in an emergency. Any technology that can minimize engine-braking noise will allow drivers to use engine brakes more frequently. And that translates into greater safety for everyone on the road.
So when Miller first heard about the Donaldson Silent Partner silencer last summer -- from a Detroit Diesel engineer at a meeting -- he was intrigued. "I didn't know there was anything on the market that would really reduce Jake Brake noise," he says. "But any time you can do something for noise abatement at a reasonable cost, it's worthwhile to consider.
Miller agreed to try out Silent Partners on three of his trucks. The first thing that impressed him was Silent Partner's bolt-on interchangeability with conventional mufflers. As he recalls, "They were exactly like the mufflers we replaced. The only difference was the part number -- and the performance."
As for Silent Partner's performance, Miller reports, "We were pleasantly surprised. Silent Partner did everything I was told it would do. It really gets rid of that harsh sharpness with Jake Brakes. We didn't see any backpressure increase, so we didn't lose any power. In fact, backpressure might actually be less with the Silent Partner."
Miller's drivers were equally impressed. "They're as image-conscious as I am. They like the fact that heads don't turn in town anymore when they hit their Jake Brakes." He sums up his experience with Silent Partner succinctly: "I'm satisfied, the drivers are satisfied." And as a result, Miller is specifying Donaldson Silent Partner silencers as OEM equipment for the five new Freightliner Argosy cabovers his fleet has on order.
Herman Miller sees Silent Partner as having potential impact far beyond his fleet. "The only reason there are laws against Jake Brakes is because of the harsh noise. If you can get rid of the noise, you can get rid of the laws." He continues, "Image is crucially important to the trucking industry, especially an operation like ours. We deal directly with our store's customers, who are on the roads and in the towns we drive through. Silent Partner lets us become better citizens and neighbours with everyone -- at a reasonable cost. There are a lot of issues and problems facing the trucking industry today. Noise is just one part of it -- but it's a part we can easily fix."
Each year in November when the ist dry leaves have scuttled to lie ground, my heart turns toward Advent. As the barren landscape shivers in the early winds of winter, I find myself longing for the lights of Advent.
Not everyone feels the same as I do. Someone told me of a church member who accosted the worship committee and demanded that they eliminate Advent. He wanted Christmas in early December, not four weeks of waiting and preparation for Christ's coming.
I can understand the man's frustration. Something seems terribly out of joint when shopping centres are festooned with sparkling red-and-green banners and reverberate with merriment and jangling bells, while the church is draped in purple and lit by a few flickering candles while we sing our plaintive cry, "O come, O come, Immanuel." It isn't easy to live in such disparate worlds.
No season on the Christian calendar is likely more misunderstood than Advent. At no other time of the year do the church's values clash more uncomfortably with the surrounding culture. So why do we observe this season? Why doesn't the church join the December whirlwind and leap directly to the Christmas extravaganza? What was the ancient church thinking when they set aside four weeks of prayer and reflection to prepare their hearts to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child?
Advent is really about God's mission. The scriptures and songs of the season lay bare the yearning of God's own heart, God's passion for relationship, as was imagined in an 8th century hymn for Advent:
Come, Sun and Savior, to embrace our gloomy world, its weary race, as groom to bride, as bride to groom: the wedding chamber, Mary's womb.
Yet it is so easy to lose the wonder of God's desire for us. We forget how astonishing is the gift of a child who breaks open our prison of isolation and fear and unites us with the Lord of Love and with one another. And living as we do in wealthy North America, we forget how many of the world's poor and oppressed are still desperate for dignity, freedom and release.
And so for a few short weeks we go backward in time to the season of Israel's captivity. We join with the people of God longing for a Messiah who will deliver them from their enemies. With out-stretched arms, they shout, "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence!" (Isaiah 64:1)
If at no other time of the year, then at least during Advent we stop to reflect on how barren our own lives would be without God's gift of grace and truth in the Babe of Bethlehem.
And in such a pause, a way is opened for a deeper, more transforming celebration of Christmas. A way is opened for the church to see more clearly that this season-and every season-is a time when we are invited to join God's mission of justice and reconciliation in the world. What God is looking for during the Advent season is a people ready not only to receive the wondrous gift of God's own presence and peace, but ready to share that gift wisely and generously.
Mennonites are not required to celebrate Advent. In our free church tradition, no external authority regulates our worship calendar. But the Advent season offers a recurring reminder that, despite our unfaithfulness or unworthiness or even our inattention, God is at work in the world in amazing ways.
A song I sing to remind myself of God's dream for our world is a text by Scottish song writers John L. Bell and Graham Maule:
I will light the candles of Advent in our home-a sign of remembering and gratitude and hope. Will you? -Marlene Kropf
[Author Affiliation]
The writer teaches Spiritual Formation and Worship at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. The song, "Who would think," is #907 in Hymnal Subscription Service 1998:1, available from Faith & Life Resources.
