Internet Tax Freedom Act

The 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act was a United States law authored by Representative Christopher Cox and Senator Ron Wyden, and signed into law as title XI of Public Law 105-277 on October 21, 1998 by President Bill Clinton in an effort to promote and preserve the commercial, educational, and informational potential of the Internet.[1][2] This law bars federal, state and local governments from taxing Internet access and from imposing discriminatory Internet-only taxes such as bit taxes, bandwidth taxes, and email taxes. The law also bars multiple taxes on electronic commerce.[3]

It does not exempt sales made on the Internet from taxation, as these may be taxed at the same state and local sales tax rate as non-Internet sales, just like mail order sales. The Act did not repeal any state sales or use tax.

It has been extended four times by the United States Congress since its original enactment. The most recent extension was signed into law on September 19, 2014, by President Barack Obama and extended the moratorium until December 11, 2014.[4]

The 1998 law also authorized establishment of a study commission to study national tax policy with regard to the Internet.[5] The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce studied the issue from 1999 to 2000. The Commission was chaired by then-Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore, III, who led a majority coalition on the Commission to issue a final report opposing taxation of the Internet and eliminating the federal excise tax on telecommunications services, among other ideas.

On July 15, 2014, the United States House of Representatives voted to pass the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (H.R. 3086; 113th Congress), a bill that would amend the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Robinson, Sal (October 23, 2013). "Illinois Supreme Court rules against ‘Amazon tax’". Brooklyn: Melville House. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  2. ↑ SCHREIBER, SALLY (October 21, 2013). "Internet Tax Freedom Act preempts Illinois click-through nexus law". Durham: Journal of Accountancy. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  3. ↑ Public Law 105-277, Title XI
  4. ↑ H.J. 124
  5. ↑ Impact of legislation on the effective tax rate, Retrieved November 7, 2013
  6. ↑ "H.R. 3086 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Gross, Grant (15 July 2014). "U.S. House approves permanent ban on Internet access taxes". PC World. Retrieved 16 July 2014.

External links