Pages: 1
Senate: No Internet Tax For Seven Years
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)
Posted by: forwardone
Senate: No Internet Tax For Seven Years
The moratorium on taxing Internet access will continue for another seven years, as the Senate reached a compromise days before the existing ban expired.
State governments who are salivating at the prospect of smacking Americans with Internet access taxes will have to get back to trying that old, boring task of balancing budgets, something their constituents have to do all the time.
A Reuters report said Senate members who wanted a shorter ban, and those who wanted to make it permanent, reached the agreement ahead of the November 1st expiration of the 1998 ban.
The House of Representatives had already agreed on a compromise, but only for a four-year ban. Congress will have to reconcile its differences and send something along to the White House for President Bush to sign.
Without a ban in place, state would likely look to the millions of Internet-using people and businesses as a ready stream of new revenue to exploit. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) praised the extension, saying it "has helped the Internet expand and has protected entrepreneurs from burdensome taxes."
Posted by: golddust
I suppose by deciding this matter sooner, the idea is that it will come back on the table that much sooner? It's a very stupid idea, imo.
However the public does not realize how driven the telecos are to find new avenues for access fees. I am sure they have lobbied long and hard to the FCC for this, and since the FCC loves large telecos, it is likely this "Internet access fee" is being brought forth through its initiative, though certainly there are enough individuals in the Legislative body who have large campaign contributions from telecos to bring an initiative forth on their 'own'.
Largely, this access fee would in effect VOIP providers, who escape these fees. Since this issue has been tabled, the telecos would be wise to perfect VOIP services.
They are loosing the access fees for interconnectivity and long distance traffic from VOIP consumers.