No more taxes! No more taxes! What – pols against new taxes?

Hold onto your hats, buckaroos! I have found a rare utterance from an almost rarer species – Notaxum Senatoriumi.

Yup, three US Senators that want to close up the opportunity for another revenue stream! One is a Democrat (yikes, that rarest of breeds) and two are Republicans (given the conduct of the last 12 years, a extinct species rediscovered?).  These fine specimens of of this scarcely seen genus have reared their heads, failed to stick their wet fingers into the political wind, and are making a play to win us Internet junkies over. 

With all of the special interest groups out there always asking for more of other peoples’ money, this gladdens my heart.  No, the folks who ask for volunteer donations are fine – it’s those that want their money through involuntary giving (think taxes) that are not my cup of tea.  I get tired of people who think that their good ideas are wonderful that we all have to pay via our taxes for them to feel good……but I digress.

Who are these folks?  Not the ones I would have thought of! From C/NET and KTVZ (Oregon):

WASHINGTON – Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), John McCain (R-AZ) and John Sununu (R-NH) on Thursday proposed legislation to make permanent a ban on multiple and discriminatory taxation on Internet access and online sales.

Holy Baud Rate! I cannot believe that a Dem and one of my Senators (Sununu!) would push for this.

The remarkable one is McCain.  This is rather surprising, as I would have never pegged McCain to be even interested in this area.  I have problems with a couple of his stances, big problems in fact (as I constantly flog Pat Hynes of AnkleBitingPundits about them who co-owns/co-hosts our Meet The New Press radio show; podcasts here).

HOWEVER, the ‘Grok has a saying: "Spank them when they’re wrong, and thank them when they’re right".  Thus, a big THANK YOU to Mr. McCain, Mr. Sununu, and Mr.Wyden.

Here’s what the law talks addresses:

(oh, by the way, we have a canning after the jump too – a Repub behaving badly)

The Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act would forever prohibit three types of taxes that unfairly single out the Internet, including taxes on Internet access, double taxation (for example, by two or more states) of a product or service bought over the Internet, and discriminatory taxes that treat Internet purchases differently from other types of sales.

Obviously I like this from a philosophical bent from a couple of different views:

• Tax free access!  Tax free buying!
• Clamping off a new revenue stream!

Lately, I haven’t been buying an awful lot of stuff.  But I have and continue to buy stuff over the ‘Net.  I really like the idea of not paying a tax just because the warehouse is somewhere else, or someone local to it wants me to help pay for the new fire station with the locally mandated sales tax (as an example).  Especially since here in NH, we have no state sales or income tax (given, though, the take over of the House, the Senate, and the Executive Council by the Democrats, this wonderful situation may not last long).

Frankly, I would have no problem if only ONE tax existed, and all levels of government had to use that to fund themselves (think a multi level Fair Tax – THAT would make me happy!).  There are just too many ways for politicians of all stripes to extract money from my wallet that I’d rather be spending on MY family than something else.  Having only one stream would make it far easier to track and keep them honest too.  But I digress….

"The Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act would ensure that consumers never have to pay a toll when they access the Information Highway. Keeping Internet access affordable to all Americans is a worthy policy goal. The Internet has become a fixture and core component of modern American life that has created and continues to generate social and economic opportunities throughout the United States," McCain said.

"State and local politicians should not be allowed to use the popularity of the Internet as an opportunity to broaden their tax base. Simply put, taxing consumers for accessing the Web discourages Internet use, reduces investment, stifles innovation, and limits the services available to consumers," Sununu said. "I am also developing legislation to expand the Internet tax ban in order to prevent discrepancies and harmful practices by certain taxation jurisdictions."

Now for the canning!  Hey, Senator McCain!  Wanna bend this guy’s ear?  Is he still steamed over losing his bridge?  Give HIM some straight talkin’, will ya (or a straight thumpin’!)?  I’ll send send you the cane if you’ll accept it!

Also on Thursday, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who had served as the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, reintroduced a measure [link removed - I'm not that nice -Skip] that could result in new fees on users’ broadband bills.

He cannot even bother to hide that it is a tax.  Hey, Senator Sununu (R-NH, get it, NH)- tell him he’s WRONG!  And we will be watching your vote!

Under his Universal Service for Americans Act, all communications services–whether they be broadband, voice over Internet protocol or telephone–would be required to pay into a fund subsidizing service in rural areas, schools and libraries.

No, no way.  Many non-profits like hospitals, schools, and the like often already get free service from a local provider.  And I don’t think that it is fair that I, living here in rural NH, have to pay for someone in rural Alaska – after all, Mr. Stevens is the Republican equivalent of Senator Byrd (D-W.VA) when it comes to bringing home the bacon…..