is free software in part encouraged by high taxation?

[Sam Liddicott]

open question:

In europe, personal tax can easily approach 50% once fuel and sales
taxes and income taxes and business taxes are taken into account.

If a business fails the entrepreneurs loses all his money, if it
succeeds he get's to keep only half of the "winnings".

Combined with all the red-tape and regulation and legal risks of running
a business, is the risk and tax so finely balanced that many
entrepreneurs don't bother to commercially exploit their software with
trade-secrets, tight user agreements and the heavy marketing and
company-support-ecosystem that must go with such approaches, but instead
to work on free software providing limited and low-key services and support?

Or, in other words if regulation and tax were lower, how many free
software authors would never have taken an interest in free software?

Has high taxation and regulation been a big stimulus for free software?

And has it therefore reduced taxable revenue as potential commercial
opportunities are not exploited in the traditional "commercial software"
sense (whatever that means)?

Sam

[Sam Tuke]

Post by Sam Liddicott
Has high taxation and regulation been a big stimulus for free software?

Interesting question.

You could write a blog post on this subject. Whether short or long, I'm sure
it would be interesting to read.

If you're a fellow you could use your account on blogs.fsfe.org.

Thanks,

Sam.
--
Sam Tuke
British Team Coordinator
Free Software Foundation Europe
IM : samtuke at jabber.fsfe.org
Contact the British team: uk at fsfeurope.org

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[Bernhard R. Link]

Post by Sam Liddicott
If a business fails the entrepreneurs loses all his money, if it
succeeds he get's to keep only half of the "winnings".

That's a very simplicistic view. It is most likely at least as wrong
as saying that when a entreprenour loses, they only lose a bit of
invested money while the society has to pay all the time (for
infrastructure and other things) which noone paid for while when
they win the get to keep all the winnings (and only pay for the
infrastructure they use in this case, and sometimes not even for that).

Post by Sam Liddicott
Or, in other words if regulation and tax were lower, how many free
software authors would never have taken an interest in free software?

That's hard to say. I can also imagine that with lower taxes and thus
less of an social savety net, less people are willing to risk anything
thus more salaried employes thus more people with time to do something
in their free time or with employers big enough to let some employees
work on free software.

Bernhard R. Link

[Novica Nakov]

Post by Sam Liddicott
company-support-ecosystem that must go with such approaches, but instead
to work on free software providing limited and low-key services and support?

If your tax estimate is correct then an entrepreneur would have to pay
the same 50% even if she offers low-key services and support.

[Sam Liddicott]

Post by Novica Nakov

Post by Sam Liddicott
company-support-ecosystem that must go with such approaches, but instead
to work on free software providing limited and low-key services and support?

If your tax estimate is correct then an entrepreneur would have to pay
the same 50% even if she offers low-key services and support.

Yes, but with a much lower initial investment.
Take free-software, re-use, re-develop, and charge for
hourly/weekly/monthly services.

As nothing is proprietary there is no advantage to having a big sales
team, admin side, marketing strategy - I mean all these things are not
as neccessary as they might be for proprietary softare.

Of course what is saved in that side is also shown in lower prices.

There are exceptions - sernet is perhaps one of them.

Sam