Senate Delays Internet Tax Ban

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In what has proven to be a far more difficult issue to resolve than expected, the U.S. Senate failed to decide whether to permanently extend the ban on Internet taxation.

The original bill that was enacted in 1998 put a ban on Internet access, but also included a grandfather clause that exempted certain states from the ban. If the bill is made permanent, those states would no longer be exempt and could stand to lose an estimated $9 billion in yearly revenue.

Originally scribed by Representative Christopher Cox (R. Calif.) of Newport Beach and Senator Ron Wyden (D.-Ore.), the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) of 1998 has gone through several incarnations since it was originally signed.

In September, the House of Representatives voted to make the tax ban permanent, although a likeminded resolution stalled out in the Senate and has led to lengthy and heated negotiations since the temporary ban expired on Nov. 1.

A final vote was expected today, but the U.S. Senate failed to endorse legislation that would have either extended the ban permanently or given individual states the right to levy taxes against users of dial-up and high-speed Internet access.

According to sources, negotiations will continue on through the weekend and might reach a resolution by Monday. There is some talk that a proviso might be agreed upon that would entail extending the bill for another two years.

Senator John McCain, chairman of the Commerce Committee, is one of the leaders who is brokering with Democratic and Republican Senators to reach a constructive resolution.

At the heart of the ITFA is the taxation of Internet use. In the early days of the Internet, most consumers got taxed for web access by their phone carrier and charged fees for use of a second phone line, although under the provisions of ITFA, no taxes could be directly levied against an Internet account. The original bill was drafted long before the proliferation of many emerging technologies, including high-speed Internet access.

The ITFA bill includes a provision that prohibits, and would continue to prohibit if renewed, states from taxing the DSL and dial-up access service that telephone companies often bundle with traditional voice services.

Opponents of the taxation ban claim that the broad wording of the bill threatens to ban telecommunications companies from all Internet taxation as carriers transfer their service from ordinary telephone services to next-generation Internet-based systems.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R.-TN) has been an outspoken advocate of altering the language of the 1998 bill and making it easier for states to tax wireless connections and other types of Internet access never considered by the original 1998 ban. His proposal includes extending the bill for another two years only.

"What we are proposing is a two-year extension of the current law with one exception: level the playing field between the phone companies and the cable companies," Alexander said. "This short term solution allows us to craft careful changes in a rapidly changing technological world."

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

CAM4 Debuts Weekly 'Skyy Knox's CAM Crawl' Livestream

CAM4 is launching "Skyy Knox’s CAM Crawl," a new livestream running every Sunday at 3 p.m. PDT.

Texas Judge Pauses AG Ken Paxton's Aylo Lawsuit Until SCOTUS Decision

A Texas district judge granted a request Wednesday to pause proceedings in the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton against Aylo over its implementation of Texas’ controversial age verification requirements for Pornhub, pending the outcome of the Free Speech Coalition-led lawsuit against Paxton, which will be heard by the Supreme Court during the next term.

Author of UN Report Recommending Worldwide Criminalization of Sex Work, Porn to Speak at NCOSE Summit

Jordanian activist Reem Alsalem, a special rapporteur on violence against women and girls at the United Nations Human Rights Council who recently issued a controversial report recommending that governments abolish all forms of sex work, including porn, will speak at anti-porn lobby NCOSE’s 2024 summit in August.

Spicey AI Voice Chat Platform Launches

Spicey AI, a platform that uses artificial intelligence to create interactive voice messages from chatbots based on adult performers, has launched.

Utherverse to Host 8th Annual VirtualCon in September

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse will hold the eighth edition of its annual virtual conference, VirtualCon, from Sept. 26-28.

Pornhub Shuts Down Access in Nebraska Over Age Verification

Aylo began blocking access to Pornhub in Nebraska on Monday, in anticipation of the state’s new age verification law — one of many such bills promoted by religious conservatives around the country — which is scheduled to go into effect Thursday.

FeelMe AI Launches 3 New Subscription Tiers

FeelMe AI has launched three new subscription levels, allowing users to connect compatible Kiiroo sex toys to their videos for interactive solo play.

CamSoda Launches AI Girlfriend Builder

CamSoda has debuted a personalized "AI girlfriend" feature, which allows users to create their very own virtual companion at no charge, including free NSFW role-play and chat.

Free Speech Organization Comes Out in Support of Wisconsin Professor Who Posted on OnlyFans

After a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse faculty tribunal recommended stripping veteran professor of communications Joe Gow of tenure last week due to Gow having unremorsefully created and appeared in adult content, a major free speech organization has come out in his support.

MojoHost Unveils Public Cloud Service MojoCompute

MojoHost has launched MojoCompute, a new cloud service, as the central component of its MojoCloud product offerings.

Show More