Yesterday, a bipartisan group of House members introduced
H.R. 3086, the
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act.
The bill would make permanent the moratorium on new state and local Internet
access taxes and on multiple or discriminatory taxation of e-commerce. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Rep. Anna
Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Rep.
Steve Chabot (R-OH) are to be commended for taking action to promote continued
broadband adoption and to ensure the future development and success of
e-commerce and the digital economy.
The Internet tax moratorium was first enacted through the Internet
Tax Freedom Act of 1998 for three years.
Since then, it has been extended in 2001, 2004 and 2007. The current moratorium will expire on
November 1, 2014.
CCIA has
long supported the moratorium, believing that keeping the Internet free of
taxation has enabled it to become the engine of growth for the American economy
that it is. Making the moratorium
permanent can provide certainty and ensure that the engine continues to run
smoothly.
E-commerce and digital markets are such an integral part of
the 21st century U.S. economy that access to the Internet is
effectively a prerequisite for economic participation. With all of the innovation,
productivity gains and overall expansion of commerce that is enabled by the
digital marketplace, it makes little sense to make participation more difficult
by taxing access to it. We applaud
these five House members, as well as Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. John Thune
(R-SD) who introduced the Senate companion Internet
Tax Freedom Forever Act (S. 1431) last month, for their vision and
leadership, and look forward to swift action on these bills.
