From Wall Street Journal today you see the damn politicians are still anxious to get further into our wallets. This rumor has been going around the internet lists for years and now they are at it again. Those of you who live in Tennessee need to get on that dumb Senator( who was not much of a governor) and insist he stop this. All some of them know is raising taxes more so they can spend it on what they want to buy votes. My suggestion to all is to send this around rapidly and all of us call our Senators and protest vigorously. Sarah Browder REVIEW & OUTLOOK Taxing the Net April 27, 2004; Page A18 President Bush renewed his call yesterday for a permanent ban on taxing Internet access, particularly the high-speed phone, cable and satellite varieties known as broadband. The White House is hoping that the Senate, which is scheduled to address the issue this week, was paying attention. We hope so, too. A small pro-tax contingent of Senate Republicans, under pressure from Governors and state legislatures back home, successfully conspired to allow the five-year-old moratorium on federal and state Internet access taxes to lapse last fall. The House has already voted to renew the ban, but usual GOP suspects such as Tennessee's Lamar Alexander and Ohio's George Voinovich have used procedural tactics to prevent the Senate from following suit. States argue that the recent economic downturn necessitates tapping cyberspace as a brand new cash cow to fund vital public services. But watchdog groups like the Club for Growth and Americans for Tax Reform are quick to point out that tax receipts at the state and local level have doubled over the past 12 years. If states are in the red, it's because of their inability to control spending. Last year, state tax collections overall increased another 4.5%. According to Census data, 2003 fourth-quarter receipts jumped 9.3% over the corresponding period in 2002. That represents the highest such percentage increase in more than 15 years. Mr. Bush said yesterday that broadband deployment plays an increasingly important role in the nation's economy and that advancements in fields like education and health care depend on it. Yet the U.S. ranks 10th world-wide in broadband technology and its availability. The President made clear that taxing access won't improve the situation. "In order to make sure it gets spread to all corners of the country, it must be affordable," said Mr. Bush. "We must not tax broadband access. If you want broadband access throughout society, Congress must ban taxes on access." Without mentioning their names, the President was speaking to those Republican Senators and others who have stood in the way of renewing the moratorium. Mr. Alexander, a former Tennessee Governor playing his federalist card, has gone so far as to posit that banning such taxes amounts to an "unfunded mandate" on the states. He and his co-sponsors, Senators Voinovich and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, have introduced a bill that would clear the way for a Pandora's box of Internet taxes. Their goal is to block any federal pre-emption of state and local authority to tax Internet access and, ultimately, electronic commerce. This is precisely why we have a Commerce Clause. It was devised to prevent state and local entities from taxing interstate commerce. The Internet's unique architecture and decentralized nature lend themselves to the very type of tax abuse that the Constitution guards against. Under Mr. Alexander's bill, not only could Internet access still be taxed, but so could all types of Internet usage. Thousands of localities nationwide would be allowed to levy fees on electronic correspondence that neither originates nor terminates in their jurisdiction -- from e-mails to Google searches to J. Crew.com purchases. As for Mr. Alexander's unfunded mandate charge, this wouldn't be the only example of Congress restricting state and local taxing authority. Federal law already pre-empts states and localites from taxing things like airline tickets, retirement income of nonresidents and certain mobile phone calls. Surely, electronic commerce belongs on this list. Where the Internet will take us remains anyone's guess. But we doubt that allowing the nation's telephone tax and regulatory blob to absorb the digital economy is the fastest way to get us there. A bill sponsored by Virginia Senator George Allen and supported by the White House would make permanent the ban on Internet access taxes. Senator John McCain has put forth a compromise proposal that's better than what we have now but doesn't go far enough. Essentially, it would extend the moratorium for another four years while allowing some broadband (DSL lines in select states) to be taxed. That's probably unacceptable to the states because it still pre-empts their authority to tax.(Naturally old McCain who can't make up his mind which side he is on has to stick his nose in and muddy the waters) The real problem with anything short of a permanent ban is that it keeps the issue alive to be debated down the road. That creates uncertainty, which is the last thing the industry needs. A permanent ban would be more difficult to resurrect. It would also incentivize a telecom sector that stands ready to invest billions to upgrade networks and make high-speed Internet access available to all American homes and small businesses. 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