Once again, a bipartisan group of representatives is trying to make the moratorium on Internet access tax permanent. But will this Congress prove any more effective than those of the past?
It all started back in 1998 when the original legislation banning Internet access tax was enacted. The bill, signed into law by President Clinton, received enthusiastic bipartisan support, but it was only a temporary moratorium. Since then, the moratorium has since been renewed five times – in 2001, 2004, 2007, and twice in 2014.The current Act is set to expire on October 1 of this year.
Last summer, the House passed a bill to make Internet access tax freedom permanent. But the bill failed to come to a vote in the Senate because it was linked to a controversial bill that would have expanded online sales taxes. So supporters of Internet tax freedom had to be content with simply extending the moratorium – for the time being.
But supporters of permanent Internet tax freedom haven’t given up. In January 2015, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.), Congressman Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), and Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) introduced H.R. 235, the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA).
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While the bill’s wording is a bit ambiguous, it seems that if passed, PITFA would end the existing “grandfather clause” that allows seven states (Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin) to tax Internet access.
In addition to bipartisan support in Congress, PITFA has support from a multitude of private organizations, such as The Heartland Institute which has commented, “The Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act is a commonsense Internet policy that is long overdue. As the Internet has become one of the driving forces behind economic growth, ensuring affordable access for businesses and consumers is crucial.” In a similar vein, Freedom Works has written, “Permitting taxation of the internet unjustly and discriminatorily burdens internet businesses and allows government new power to restrict the freedom of information. The Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act is a major part of protecting internet freedom for all.”
Whether Congress will be able to act on its convictions, or whether PITFA will again be held hostage to partisan bickering, remains to be seen.