Oct

26

2007

JOIN SENATOR SUNUNU’S FIGHT TO KEEP THE INTERNET TAX FREE

by Doug

Tax Monster.money.
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Senator John E. Sununu has an important message about the Internet we have been asked to share. If you are reading this, you should care. Says Senator Sununu:
“The Clock Is Ticking, Placing Internet Tax Freedom In Real Jeopardy. This National And Global Communication Network And The Economy That Surrounds It Deserves The Certainty Of A Permanent Ban To Ensure That Resources And Sustainable Business Plans Can Be Put Into Action. Taxing The Information Superhighway Is Short-Sighted Policy That Will Discourage Innovation, Slow Broadband Deployment, And Raise Prices For Consumers.”
On November 1st 2007 – six short days from now – the 1998 law that has kept the internet free from taxation is set to expire.
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New Hampshire’s Senator John E. Sununu is leading the fight in Congress to make the internet tax ban permanent.  This week he introduced an amendment that would make the current internet tax moratorium PERMANENT.  An expert on technology policy, Senator Sununu has been at the forefront of this issue, having worked on similar bills and introduced the “Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007” at the start of the 110th Congress.
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Meanwhile, Democrats in Washington are fighting to keep the door to internet taxes alive.  They are supporting vague and temporary measures that could leave the internet open forms of taxation that were previously prohibited.  Taxes on internet access, taxes on email services, taxes on internet purchases…  
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Senator Sununu’s amendment could come to a vote on the floor of the Senate as early as this morning.  Let’s settle this one for good!  If you agree that the ban on internet taxes should be permanent, then Senator Sununu needs to hear a message of support from you!

Join us in signing this petition to tell John Sununu, “I Support Keeping the Internet Tax Free.”

Act now! Time is running out.
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[UPDATE] While you may have heard that a vote indeed was taken last evening on this, Steve Demaura of the NH GOP informs us that
It is not over until Nov 1. They have already voted on a number of the Democrats’ measures which are only temporary bans with loop holes. The Sununu permanent ban will come to the floor for an up or down vote either today or Monday. If that fails they still have one more shot to re-introduce it under rule 14…there is still hope!
[UPDATE # 2] Statement from NHGOP:
 

Thanks to the hard work of New Hampshire’s own Senator John Sununu, the ban on internet taxes that was set to expire next week will be extended. Reaching a compromise yesterday, Senator Sununu was able to help secure a seven year moratorium on internet access taxes.  
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Seven years is a great start, but not a permanent solution. The fight is not over! Democrats in Washington are fighting to keep the door to future internet taxes open.  They continue to support vague half measures that could leave the internet open forms of taxation that were previously prohibited.  Taxes on internet access, taxes on email services, taxes on internet purchases…  
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An expert on technology policy, Senator Sununu has been at the forefront of this issue, having led the fight for a permanent ban on internet access taxes in the Senate. The original author of the “Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007” Senator Sununu has articulated clearly why the eventual passage of a permanent internet tax ban is critical.
Join us in thanking Senator Sununu for his hard work on this issue and to support his call for a permanent ban on internet taxes! If you agree that the internet should stay tax free, then Senator Sununu needs to hear a message of support from you!

Join us in signing this petition to tell John Sununu, “I Support Keeping the Internet Tax Free.”

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  • TaxJunky

    Folks,
    I hate to burst everyone’s bubble, but I’m not exactly sure how we’re going to tell Senator Sununu to “keep” the internet tax free. As we’d all know if we did some research, the origional Internet Tax Moritorium of 1998:
    “protects those Internet access taxes that were generally imposed and actually enforced prior to October 1, 1998, if, before that date:
    (1) the tax was authorized by statute; and
    (2) either:
    (a) a provider of Internet access services had a reasonable opportunity to know, by virtue of a rule or other proclamation made by the appropriate administrative agency of the state or political subdivision thereof, that such agency had interpreted and applied such tax to Internet access services; or
    (b) a state or political subdivision thereof generally collected such tax on charges for Internet access.”
    In other words, those states (LIKE NEW HAMPSHIRE) that had previously imposed a tax on internet access can and do continue to do so. In New Hampshire, that’s a generally imposed 7% communications services tax.
    Knowing that New Hampshire and 11 other states impose taxes on the internet already, it would be a good idea to consider how that tax has effected relative broadband deployment. As it happens, those studies on this issue that are publicly available indicate (political rhetoric from dems and republicans alike aside) that the taxes have had zero impact on the percentage of people with internet access.
    That all being said, what we really need to be asking is why this moratorium is important enough to be infringing on states right to tax their populations as they see fit. While internet commerce may be subject to federal jurisdiction, access services, which requires local providers, most certainly shouldn’t be.

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