Keep the Ban on Internet Access Taxes

October 24, 2003

Dear Senator,

On behalf of the 280,000 members of Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), I urge you to support the “Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act of 2003” (S. 150), which would make permanent the current ban on Internet access taxes and multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.

When the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) was passed in 1998, only 26.2 percent of American households had Internet access, according to the Department of Commerce. Forrester Research, a technology industry research firm, estimates that in 2002, 64 percent of American households had Internet access. The significant growth of Internet access is a vital component of the American economy that allows businesses and consumers to connect in ways not possible in the past.

To avoid impeding the growth of Internet use and of e-commerce in the United States, CSE believes that the ITFA’s Internet tax moratorium should be made permanent. A tax on Internet access would retard the growth of households connecting to the Internet while impeding e-commerce. S. 150 updates and makes permanent the ITFA in ways that ensure all methods of Internet access—dial-up, DSL, cable, satellite, or wireless—are covered by the moratorium.

Internet access is important for both consumers and the American economy. Congress has temporarily passed a ban on such taxes in the past and it is now time to make the ban permanent and make the tax code fairer and simpler.

Sincerely,

Paul Beckner
President and CEO
Citizens for a Sound Economy

cc: Majority Leader Bill Frist
Sen. George Allen