Oregon chosen friendliest toward online shoppers
By Greg Wright
Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON — When it comes to states that encourage Americans to buy books, music and other goods with the click of a computer mouse, Oregon comes out on top and South Carolina last, according to a study released this week.
The report from the bipartisan Progressive Policy Institute here examined state regulations that discourage online shopping. These include Internet service taxes or laws that bar shoppers from buying out-of-state goods on the Web.
Oregon was most conducive to Internet shopping because it does not charge Internet access fees and allows residents to troll the Web for the best mortgages, prescription drugs and wine, the study said. Oregon also is friendly to shoppers at stores, charging no sales tax.
Meanwhile, bottom-ranked South Carolina restricts Internet purchases of contact lenses and has no laws to stop unsolicited e-mail sales offers.
States sometimes discourage Internet sales to protect local businesses from outside competitors, said Robert Atkinson, one of the authors of the Progressive Policy Institute study. But he argues that embracing new technology is beneficial for a state's economy because it raises residents' standard of living.
Internet sales nationwide reached $10 billion during the fourth quarter of 2001, a 13 percent increase from the previous year and double sales at the end of 1999, the Commerce Department reported last month.
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Hawai'i, Idaho tied for No. 7
The 50 states and the District of Columbia were evaluated on the basis of 11 criteria, identifying the extent to which they impose industry-specific protectionist laws, tax Internet access, enable Internet users to transact electronically with state government, and recognize the legal validity of digital signatures. The higher the score, the friendlier the state is to electronic commerce.
1. Oregon: 16.6
2. Utah: 14.7
3. Indiana: 14.3
4. Louisiana: 14.2
5. Iowa: 13.9
6. Alaska: 13.4
7. (tie) Hawai'i: 12.8
7. (tie) Idaho: 12.8
9. Michigan: 12.6
10. Colorado: 12.4
The Progressive Policy Institute
