Get the most out of your Inc. online experience by registering and joining the Inc. community today. Get access to all Inc.com content and priority invites to free Inc. networking events in your area.

Login using:


Or login directly through Inc.com

Verizon, EBay, SMBs Hail House Vote vs. Internet Tax

 

Merchants and small businesses who sell and buy via eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) got a piece of good news on Tuesday: The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation to extend a moratorium on state Internet access taxes for four years. The House voted 405-2 to continue the ban, which is scheduled to expire on Nov. 1. The state tax ban was enacted in 1998 and was last renewed in 2004.

Now the bill will be presented before the Senate, where similar legislation had hit a logjam in the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee, over a dispute on whether to extend the ban temporarily or permanently.

The House vote was criticized by some legislators, who said it didn't go far enough and called for a permanent ban on Web access taxes -- to spur more investment by broadband service providers. The four-year extension includes a "grandfather" clause that would allow certain states that already had an Internet tax enacted as of 1998 to continue imposing taxes.

The Don't Tax Our Web Coalition, which includes Internet service providers such as Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), AT&T (NYSE:T) and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) , say the price of Web access could rise by as much as 17 percent, if the moratorium on state taxes were allowed to expire.

"We urge the Senate to act quickly and send a strong bill to the president before Internet users face steep new taxes that could take effect in just two short weeks," said Peter Davidson, senior vice president at Verizon.

- more briefs-