Recent U.S. Report on E-government

The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), a U.S. based think tank, recently released a report entitled "The Best States for E-Commerce". In the report, the PPI examined the 50 States and the District of Columbia and ranked them in order of their friendliness to e-commerce. In order to rank the States, the PPI considered factors such as the extent to which the State imposed industry-specific projectionist laws, taxed internet access, and the status of State legislation recognizing the validity of digital signatures. Perhaps of most interest to Canadians, the report suggested a number of actions that could encourage the growth of e-commerce in any jurisdiction including Canada such as:

• avoiding protectionist regulation which limit competition;
• promoting uniformity in licensing requirements across State (provincial) borders;
• using information technologies to create digital government;
• facilitating the use of digital signatures; and
• eliminating taxes on internet access.

View the report.