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| Congress removes bump from Info Highway |
November 16, 2001 |
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| Tax moratorium extended to November, 2003
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Heather Wilson today applauded Senate passage of legislation that cleared the U.S. House more than a month ago. H.R. 1552, the Internet Tax Non-Discrimination Act, extends the moratorium on access fees, new taxes, and discriminatory taxes on the Internet. Under the measure, now on its way to President Bush for signature, the moratorium will remain in place until November 1, 2003.
“The tremendous growth of e-commerce has created thousands of jobs in this country and led to countless new choices for New Mexico consumers,” said Wilson, a member of the Internet Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee. “With the Holiday season now upon us and internet shopping gaining in popularity, the bridge over the Digital Divide shouldn’t have a toll booth on it. We should do everything in our power to nurture the growth of this explosive new economy and to avoid placing roadblocks on the information superhighway.”
The previous moratorium, enacted in 1998, expired on October 21, 2001. Now extended, it outlaws three types of taxes that unfairly single out the Internet: (1) taxes on Internet access; (2) double-taxation (for example, by two or more states) of a product or service bought over the Internet; and (3) discriminatory taxes that treat Internet purchases differently from other types of sales.
Jackie Fewell owns Net//works!, an Albuquerque-based internet company, and agrees that taxing the internet would severely curtail the growth she’s seen in her industry.
“Consumers and businesses shouldn’t be burdened by tax policies that curtail the growth in internet usage,” says Fewell. “Through our work we’ve seen a steady increase in businesses using and relying on the internet to reach consumers, and consumers increasingly use the internet for research and information. I think I can say with confidence that businesses and consumers in Albuquerque will benefit from extending the moratorium on internet taxes and we’re grateful for Congresswoman Wilson’s steady hand when it comes to encouraging growth in this sector of the economy.”
H.R. 1552 is supported by a broad coalition of advocacy groups, including Americans for Tax Reform, the American Electronics Association, Information Technology Association of America, Software and Information Industry Association, Direct Marketers Association, and Information Technology Industry Council. |
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