E-Commerce Commission Proposals Approved In House
House of Representatives Passes Amended HR 3709 Extending Moratorium, Eliminating Internet Access Charges

Arlington, VA - May 10, 2000 - The U.S. House of Representatives today endorsed conclusions of the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce by passing legislation 352 to 75 to extend a moratorium for five years prohibiting multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce and eliminating taxes on Internet access fees. A three-year moratorium was imposed in 1998 by the Internet Tax Freedom Act. It grandfathered states taxing Internet access on or before October 1, 1998, by allowing them to continue doing so. The new legislation, if signed into law, would extend the moratorium to October 2006 and would eliminate the grandfather provision.

"The House of Representatives' passage of this bill validates the Commission's work," said Virginia's Governor, Jim Gilmore, III, Commission chairman. "The legislation ensures that transactions, whether they take place via telephone, catalog, or the Internet, are all treated in the same equitable manner. The House's action is a major victory for the American people who are logging on the Internet."

An amendment to HR3709 proposed by Representative Ernest Istook, (R-OK) also passed today, urging states and localities to work together to develop a non-multiple and non-discriminatory tax system, encouraging states to promote uniformity, simplicity, and consistency in an electronic taxing system.

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 were provided to Congress on April 12, 2000, ahead of the deadline of April 21, 2000.