US House votes to extend Internet tax ban
updated 04:30 pm EDT, Tue October 16, 2007
US House extends tax ban
The US House of Representatives today voted to extend a measure against taxing Internet access, the Associated Press reports. The ban affects state and local taxes, and was first enacted in 1998; with the extension the next review would take place in 2011, while exempting states that imposed taxes before 1998. An overwhelming majority of representatives voted for the extension, at 405 to 2; 238 have signed a bill to make the ban permanent, but current discussion has been curtailed to extension.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has accused Democrats of wanting to "leave the door open" for future taxation, a charge which extension co-sponsor Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) denies. Watt contends that a permanent ban would be "dead on arrival" if sent to the Senate, and that if action had not been taken quickly, the present ban may have expired before a proper law could have been enacted.
Even the proposed extension must still be approved by the Senate, which has voted for two other extensions since 1998. The direction senators will vote this time is uncertain, but it is said that there is already strong support in the political body for a permanent ban.
