Regulatory Filings

The assigning and transferring of licenses made necessary to facilitate the purchase of NBC Universal by Comcast should be permitted to proceed without attaching any special policy conditions or policy requirements. The merger is a logical consequence of the convergence of the media and communications industries, and it should be permitted to succeed or fail based on the response of consumers in the marketplace. Because merger conditions can become precedent, policy should be made through a deliberative policy process involving all participants in the marketplace and not through the exceptional circumstances and vulnerability of a merger review process.

This brief of amicus curiae was filed by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) in the case DirecTV, Inc., and Echostar Satellite LLC vs. Richard Levin, Tax Commissioner of Ohio.

In the brief, IPI argues that states (in this case, the state of Ohio) have the right to levy a tax on the delivery of DBS TV and that this is an issue of federalism. IPI also argues that franchise fees levied on the delivery of cable TV is also a tax. IPI argues that, because like services should be taxed alike, states have the right to attempt to equalize taxation through such means, though IPI prefers that the tax burden be equalized by moving taxes lower, rather than higher.