 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
and international organizations to facilitate the development of Internet and
technological infrastructure in developing countries. National governments also
take initiatives to improve the adoption and use of information technologies but they
do not always succeed (e.g., Walsham, 1999).
Governance
The Internet is characterized by its ability to expand without central governance.
The Internet is the ‘place’
where the free economy can blossom and this presents
immense opportunities for electronic commerce. It is the intention of the policy makers
at an international level to support industry leadership and selfregulation for
electronic commerce (The White House 1999; EC 1997; OECD, 1997b).
Specifically, there is a tendency to minimize government involvement and avoid
unnecessary restrictions on electronic commerce.
However, as electronic commerce use becomes
mature its international
nature creates the need for global governance in certain areas. For example, several
legal cases have been reported that involved Web site owners and consumers or
other companies. The conflict usually derives from the lack of certainty about where
a Web company is physically located and thus under which country’s legal system
the company works (Aalberts and Townsend, 1998). Taxation is a specific concern
for companies that intend to invest in new technologies and for governments that
want to control electronic commerce similarly to traditional commerce. There is a
wide range of proposals concerning the administration of taxes in electronic
commerce (Johnston, 1999; Owens, 1999). At one extreme there is the idea of
absolute
‘tax-free’
electronic commerce that has already been implemented for
transactions taking place among US states, until February 1998 when the US public
administration reaffirmed its commitment to making cyberspace a free-trade zone
(Negroponte, 1999). At the other end there are proposals for introduction of
special new taxes for electronic commerce. OECD (1997a) proposes an interme-
diate solution, directing its members to apply existing tax principles in electronic
transactions. OECD, in co-operation with the European Union, the World’s