I. Introduction
Many
people who gamble on-line will tell you that October 13, 2006 truly was
an unlucky day. On that Friday, President Bush signed into law the
Unlawful Internet Gambling act.[1]. The bill makes it illegal for banks
and credit card companies to transact with online gambling
companies.[2] By preventing banks from allowing deposits into gambling
sites, the bill hopes to prevent people from partaking in on-line
gambling. The question many people have is why the United States would
outlaw internet gambling when it could have regulated the industry and
benefited from the tax revenue it would have received?
II. Analysis
The
first thing taught on the first day of an Income Tax class is that tax
base times rate equals revenue (tax base x rate = revenue). Congress
can increase tax revenue in one of two ways; increase the tax rate or
increase the tax base. Increasing the