Social Life
Let the Good Times Roll: 7 More Years of No Internet Tax
Congress and the House decided once more to not tax the Internet!
The U.S. Congress and Senate once again agreed to a bipartisan resolution that extends the Internet tax moratorium.
The highly debated issue saw strong support for keeping the Internet tax free from both those in the industry and from grass roots movements. ISPs strongly opposed any sort of taxation as it would hurt their revenues by driving away customers. Users, who joined movements such as the “Don’t Tax Our Web Coalition,” did not want to be taxed either, as taxation would likely mean higher service charges.
A tax moratorium was originally instituted in 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act. It was extended twice already, in 2001 and 2004, but has not been permanently passed into law.
The house and senate disagreed on the exact length to ban taxation. The House passed a resolution calling for a four year ban. The Senate wanted a seven year ban. Both legislative bodies saw strong bipartisan support for some kind of ban, though.
The proposal for extension of the 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act will now go to a panel composed of House and Senate members which will iron out the differences between the House and Senate’s passed proposals and submit a single proposal to the President.
Should the Internet be tax free? The answer according to the public seems to be overwhelming yes. However, your income from private Internet sales soon will be taxable.
