Governments lose out as more money flows online

NEWS The value of business carried out over the Internet is being hugely underestimated - a situation that is costing governments millions of dollars a year in lost tax revenue, according to Professor Peter Cochran, chief technology officer at BT. Cochran said analysing sales over the Net fails to take into account untaxed, cross-border relationships between online companies. He told Silicon.com that it's not just that taxing this kind of ebusiness is hard, but rather e-trade "isn't even on the [UK] government's radar screen". "But, does it matter?" he asked. "The wealth being generated is huge and it wouldn't be possible without the use of the technology." Speaking at the Unisys Users' Association Conference in Stratford-upon-Avon, the technology guru also said the Net will make copyright "a concept that belongs to the quill pens of scribes and monks," because no matter what content providers do to protect their intellectual property, "the bits will find a way". However, Robin Bloor, CEO of Bloor Research, disagreed. "Copyright is going to persist and it will be the basis of the electronic economy," he said. "It will remain a cornerstone of money, music and video," he said.