Re: Tax writeoff for Open Source Developers?

[Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org>]

At 05:23 PM 12/20/98 -0500, Sujal Shah wrote:
 
>Brett Glass wrote:
>> 
>[SNIP]
>> >Additionally, I don't believe that favoring the tax break means that
>> >monetary reward is a motivation.
>> 
>> Then why offer a tax break?
>
>As I said, it acts as a "thank you" to the people offering what amounts
>to a public good.  In other words, people shouldn't be penalized or
>taxed on income that they use to generate a public good.

As I have asserted many times before, software published under the
GPL is not a public good.

>As for your "businesses can't reuse because of the GPL" stuff, well,
>companies are proving you wrong daily.  Take a look at IBM's recent
>offerings, as well as their recent commitments to working with companies
>such as RedHat to offer support and *enhancements* to Linux and Apache
>(yes, I know Apache's licensing terms).  

IBM did not release its software under the GPL, and has endorsed Apache
(which is also not bound by the GPL). Therefore, IBM's moves reinforce
my assertions and provide counterexamples to your arguments.

>Your argument is not working in reality.

It is. Already, people I know personally who have great ideas for software
products are throwing up their hands. Either Microsoft will produce a
free, bundled product that undercuts their sales, or their work will be
copied and given away for free. Unless they can build on free code,
the rewards will not be worth the effort.

As one said to me over a beer a few nights ago, "Might as well take up
plumbing."

--Brett