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17th October 2007, 11:46 AM
The House passed legislation Tuesday that would extend a moratorium on state Internet access taxes for four years, brushing aside calls by some lawmakers for a permanent ban.
The House passed legislation Tuesday that would extend a moratorium on state Internet access taxes for four years, brushing aside calls by some lawmakers for a permanent ban.
The House voted 405-2 to extend the Internet tax ban, which is scheduled to expire on Nov. 1.
Attention now shifts to the Senate, where similar legislation has been stalled in the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee because of a dispute about whether to extend it temporarily or make it permanent.
The House vote provoked criticism from some House lawmakers, including many Republicans, who argued that a permanent state tax moratorium is needed to spur more investment by broadband providers.
But House lawmakers who support the four-year extension said it was pointless to approve a permanent moratorium because it did not have the support needed to pass in the Senate.
"We are doing what is necessary to move a bill," said Democrat Mel Watt of North Carolina.
The state tax ban has been in place since 1998, and was last renewed by Congress in 2004 for three years.
Internet service providers say the price of Internet access could rise by as much as 17 percent if the moratorium on state taxes were allowed to expire.
The four-year extension is backed by the National Governors Association. It includes a "grandfather" clause that would allow a handful of states to continue imposing Internet taxes -- those that already had a tax enacted in 1998. (Reporting by Peter Kaplan, editing by Brian Moss)
http://www.informationweek.com/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202403479&articleID=202403479
The House passed legislation Tuesday that would extend a moratorium on state Internet access taxes for four years, brushing aside calls by some lawmakers for a permanent ban.
The House voted 405-2 to extend the Internet tax ban, which is scheduled to expire on Nov. 1.
Attention now shifts to the Senate, where similar legislation has been stalled in the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee because of a dispute about whether to extend it temporarily or make it permanent.
The House vote provoked criticism from some House lawmakers, including many Republicans, who argued that a permanent state tax moratorium is needed to spur more investment by broadband providers.
But House lawmakers who support the four-year extension said it was pointless to approve a permanent moratorium because it did not have the support needed to pass in the Senate.
"We are doing what is necessary to move a bill," said Democrat Mel Watt of North Carolina.
The state tax ban has been in place since 1998, and was last renewed by Congress in 2004 for three years.
Internet service providers say the price of Internet access could rise by as much as 17 percent if the moratorium on state taxes were allowed to expire.
The four-year extension is backed by the National Governors Association. It includes a "grandfather" clause that would allow a handful of states to continue imposing Internet taxes -- those that already had a tax enacted in 1998. (Reporting by Peter Kaplan, editing by Brian Moss)
http://www.informationweek.com/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202403479&articleID=202403479