The road to an Internet tax ban

Congress is moving closer to extending a ban on Internet taxes, a law that expires on Nov. 1st. Recently, the Senate joined the House in passed a moratorium. However, there are differences in the two pieces of legislation that will have to be reconciled. The Senate version calls for a seven-year ban while the House wants a four-year ban. These differences will have to be resolved before the legislation is sent to President Bush for his signature. But it is a step forward for lawmakers to protect the Internet at the time when local and state governments are looking to it as a new source of tax revenues for their coffers. Supporters said the ban would help encourage the growth of broadband and help fuel the U.S. economy. But opponents said that the ban could give taxing authorities the idea of looking at instant messaging and text messaging for new taxes.

For more on stopping Internet taxes:
 - read this CIO magazine article