
Chairman
The Honorable James S. Gilmore,
III Governor Commonwealth of Virginia
Members
Mr. Dean F. Andal Chairman California Board of
Equalization
Mr. C. Michael Armstrong Chairman and
CEO, AT&T
Mr. Joseph H. Guttentag Senior Advisor to the Assistant
Secretary for Tax Policy U.S. Department of the
Treasury
The Honorable Paul C. Harris Sr. Delegate Virginia House
of Delegates
The Honorable Delna Jones Commissioner Washington
County, Oregon
The Honorable Ron Kirk Mayor City of Dallas
The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt Governor State of
Utah
Mr. Gene N. Lebrun President (1997-1999) National
Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
The Honorable Gary Locke Governor State of
Washington
Mr. Grover Norquist President Americans for Tax
Reform
Mr. Robert Novick General Counsel U.S. Trade
Representative
Mr. Richard Parsons President Time Warner, Inc.
Mr. Andrew Pincus General Counsel U.S. Department of
Commerce
Mr. Robert Pittman President & Chief Operating
Officer America Online
Mr. David Pottruck President & co-Chief Executive
Officer Charles Schwab and Company
Mr. John W. Sidgmore Vice Chairman MCI WorldCom and
Chairman UUNET
Mr. Stanley Sokul Independent Consultant Association
for Interactive Media
Mr. Theodore Waitt Chairman Gateway,
Inc. |
|
Press Contacts: Debbie
Neville O'Keeffe & Company, Inc. (703)
883-9000, ext.
104 dneville@okeeffeco.com | |
|
Heather
Rosenker Executive Director Advisory
Commission on Electronic Commerce (703)
993-8049 rosenker@gmu.edu | |
For Immediate Release April 12,
2000 |
Mark Miner Press
Secretary Office of the Governor of
Virginia (804)
692-3110 mminer@gov.state.va.us | |
E-Commerce Commission Submits
Report To Congress Chairman Presents Report
at Formal Ceremony
Arlington, VA - April 12, 2000 - In accordance with its
statute, The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce today
submitted its report on Internet tax issues to Congress. This
morning, Commission Chairman Virginia Governor James S.
Gilmore, III presented the report in a formal ceremony to
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Senate Majority Leader
Trent Lott, and House Majority Leader Dick Armey at the United
States Capitol. Advisory Commission members Paul Harris, Stan
Sokul, and Grover Norquist, as well as Congressman Robert
Goodlatte (R-VA) and Senator John Warner (R-VA) were on hand
at the Capitol with the Chairman. Governor Gilmore followed up
on his formal presentation with an address to a Newsmaker
Luncheon at the National Press Club.
"In the Internet economy, it is unfair to make small
mom-and-pop businesses collect taxes on the Internet," said
Governor Gilmore. "Under the current arcane system of sales
taxes, the business initiative that founded our nation would
wither in a blizzard of paperwork and bureaucracy. Let it be
known that the Commission has weighed in heavily on the side
of low tax burdens, fairness, and equal opportunity for all
Americans."
Over the past several days, Congressional members have
demonstrated support for the Commission's report by
introducing legislation that extends the current moratorium on
Internet-related taxes, abolishes all taxes on Internet
access, and clarifies nexus standards. For example, Senator
Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) introduced
legislation that would prevent states from forcing
out-of-state businesses, which have no physical connection to
the state, to collect sales taxes on their behalf. Minority
Leader Richard Gephardt also recently announced his support
for several ideas endorsed in the report.
"We are pleased to receive the majority report from the
Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce," said House
Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL). "Congress is already planning
to act on the recommendations that Governor Gilmore and his
commissioners agreed upon. For example, Congress will soon
vote to extend the moratorium on Internet taxes for another
five years."
"The report today emphasizes value to the people of the
United States - the working men and women who actually pay the
taxes," Governor Gilmore continued. "It's a comprehensive
proposal that I'm very proud of, and I think it's very upbeat
and uplifting."
The Commission returned a two-thirds majority vote
stressing that the Congress act to address the following
issues:
- Need to bridge the "Digital Divide" to permit all
Americans to participate in the Internet economy;
- Protect consumer privacy on the Internet; and
- Making permanent a standstill on international tariffs
on electronic commerce at the earliest possible date.
The report also details majority positions in key areas,
including:
- Reduce consumers' tax burden by repealing the Federal
three-percent tax on telephone services, in effect since
1898, a tax cut of $5 billion annually for American
consumers;
- Forge a meaningful pathway to simplification of states'
sales and use tax systems;
- Permanently prohibit states or localities from taxing
Internet access charges, thus saving taxpayers money;
- Extend the current Internet tax moratorium legislated by
the Congress on multiple and discriminatory taxation
targeted at the Internet; and
- Clarify nexus standards to make fair the obligation of
businesses to collect and remit state and local taxes on
remote transactions over the Internet.
For more information about the Commission and its meetings,
the public may visit the Commission's Web site at http://www.ecommercecommission.org/.
About the Advisory Commission on Electronic
Commerce
Appointed by Congress in October 1998 as part of the
Internet Tax Freedom Act, the 19-member Commission has been
tasked with studying the impact of federal, state, local, and
international taxation and tariffs on transactions using the
Internet and Internet Access. The Commission's recommendations
are due to Congress no later than April 21, 2000.
###
www.ecommercecommission.org 3401 North Fairfax
Drive Telephone: (703) 993-8049 · Facsimile: (703)
993-8250 |