Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and John Thune, R-S.D.,...
Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and John Thune, R-S.D., introduced legislation Thursday to codify a ban on Internet access taxes and on what they said are multiple and discriminatory taxes on e-commerce. The Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act would indefinitely extend…
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the provisions of the 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA), which are scheduled to expire Nov. 1, 2014. The new bill is an “extension” of Wyden’s work on the issue, his spokesman told us via email. “The legislation includes findings that underline important principles that have been established since the law was first passed,” the spokesman said. Wyden was the original author of ITFA and helped extend the law three times since its passage. There are no substantive differences between the Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act and the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (S-31), which was introduced in February by Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Dean Heller, R-Nev. Thune, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said: “Keeping the Internet accessible to consumers encourages innovation and investment in our global economy.” Wyden said consumers, entrepreneurs, and innovators “can breathe easy knowing that a permanent extension of ITFA is on its way.” T-Mobile Vice President-Federal Legislative Affairs Tony Russo said the bill will provide a “permanent and predictable tax environment for businesses to grow, and promote further broadband adoption in all parts of America,” according to a news release. NCTA urged swift passage of the bill in a separate news release: “Extending the Internet tax moratorium will protect consumers and small businesses from new and burdensome state and local taxes on Internet access,” the group said. Peter Davidson, Verizon’s senior vice president of federal government relations, said: “It is critical that Congress permanently extend these Internet tax policies to ensure the U.S. remains competitive in today’s global marketplace.”