Terry Everett, November 29, 2004

Twice since 1998 Congress has passed legislation banning states and local jurisdictions from taxing Internet access unless the tax was already in effect prior to the original 1998 law. Congress has believed, as I do, that the Internet is a significant economic force for good and its growth and availability to all Americans should not be stymied by taxes.

Since the mid 1990's, when the Internet came into being in homes and businesses, the medium has revolutionized communication to the point of actually changing our culture and our view of the world. Offering rapid access to information on practically any subject and serving as an outlet for political, social, and academic expression, the World Wide Web is unparalleled in human history in terms of plugging a whole global population into itself.

While arguments can be made that the Internet has both positive and negative contributions, there is no denying that it has and continues to do a lot of good. It can educate and inform its subscribers in ways that other media cannot through its immediacy and ability to deliver information from text to video. Taken as a whole, it has been estimated that 12 percent of the world's population has on-line access while the United States has a deeper Internet penetration with 68 percent of the public estimated to be connected in some form to the World Wide Web.

Whether they be rural residents seeking timely news and information not available to them otherwise, or schools and local libraries offering students access to electronic study and research tools, to small businesses seeking to expand their customer base literally around the world, the Internet is the backbone of the Information Age and the digital economy and should be allowed to reach to all who wish to connect to it. Taxes on Internet access only serve to weigh down the availability of on-line services to those with limited incomes.

In 1998 and again in 2001, Congress passed multi-year bans on taxation of Internet access in an effort to keep its benefits available to all who seek it. The last Internet taxation ban expired in September of 2003 and since that time on-line subscribers have been unprotected from new access taxes. Also last September, the U.S. House passed HR 49 in an effort to permanently ban all Internet access taxation. I supported this bill which unfortunately was not voted on in the U.S. Senate.

To ensure that Americans have the fullest access to Internet services, the U.S. House passed on November 18 the Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act (S 150). This legislation, which was approved by the Senate on April 20, prohibits states from taxing Internet access. It also bars states from placing multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce. The ban on these forms of Internet taxes will be in effect retroactively from November 1, 2003 to November 1, 2007. States with such taxes in effect prior to October 1998 are exempt from the ban. The new Internet tax ban does not exempt Internet retailers from collecting and remitting sales taxes to states.

The Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act is now headed to President Bush for his signature. Americans have a right to unfettered access to on-line services and Congress will continue to act accordingly to protect that right.

Congressman Terry Everett, a Republican, represents Alabama's Second Congressional District, which includes the state capitol, Montgomery.