FreedomWorks Urges Speaker Hastert to Consider and Pass the Internet Tax Moratorium

This letter was sent to the Speaker and the rest of the House of Representatives on Nov. 15, 2004.

Dear Speaker Hastert:

On behalf of our 500,000 members nationwide, FreedomWorks respectfully urges you to consider and pass S. 150, the Internet Tax Non-Discrimination Act, before the 108th Congress adjourns.

The Internet access tax moratorium expired a year ago, and congressional action is urgently needed to protect American citizens from regressive and punitive new taxes on Internet access and services.

The rates of adoption of the Internet are slowing, and too many Americans do not have access to the educational and economic benefits of the broadband world. Permitting states and localities to enact a hodgepodge of new taxes would increase the digital divide between Americans who have Internet access and those who don’t, and would slow our overall economic growth. Internet access and commerce are interstate in nature, and clear federal tax and regulatory policy is both appropriate and necessary.

FreedomWorks hopes that the House will move to protect consumers from new tax burdens by passing S. 150 as soon as possible. We are also optimistic that the new 109th Congress will move to convert the Internet access tax moratorium into a permanent ban.

Indeed, S. 150 is the first element of a broader set of telecommunications regulatory and legal reforms that are urgently needed so that U.S. industry can continue to innovate, grow, and lead the world. We thank you in advance for your support and continued leadership on this important issue

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President
FreedomWorks

cc: U.S. House of Representatives

FreedomWorks was formed on July 22, 2004 by a merger between Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) and Empower America