
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 Contact: Debbie
Neville O'Keeffe & Company, Inc. (703)
883-9000, ext. 104 dneville@okeeffeco.com |
For Immediate
Release October 15, 1999 |
Advisory Commission on
Electronic Commerce Invites Interested Parties to Submit
Plans
Arlington, VA - October 15, 1999 - The Advisory Commission
on Electronic Commerce today issued an invitation to the
public to submit proposals by November 15, 1999, regarding
possible taxation of electronic commerce transactions. The
Commission is 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 request for submissions covering the feasibility
of adapting sales tax systems to Internet-based transactions
should not be interpreted as a decision to adopt a plan to
implement taxation of Internet-based transactions.
At its New York City meeting last month, the Commission
discussed, and later supplemented, a set of criteria that will
be used in the evaluation of the proposals. The Commission's
Report Drafting Subcommittee will review proposals and has the
option of incorporating proposals into its Issues and Policy
Options paper to be presented at the Commission's next meeting
in San Francisco on December 14-15, 1999.
Commission members specified the following criteria for
those interested in submitting plans:
Simplification
- How does this proposal fundamentally simplify the
existing system of sales tax collection (Some examples may
be: common definitions, single rate per state, clarification
of nexus standards, and so forth)?
- How does this proposal define, distinguish, and propose
to tax information, digital goods, and services provided
electronically over the Internet?
- How does this proposal protect against onerous and/or
multiple audits?
Taxation
- Does this proposal impose any taxes on Internet access
or new taxes on Internet sales?
- Does this proposal leave the net tax burden on consumers
unchanged? (Does it impose an obligation to pay taxes where
such an obligation does not exist today? Does it reduce or
increase state and local telecommunication taxes? Does it
reduce or increase taxes, licensing fees, or other charges
on services designed or used for access to or use of the
Internet?)
- Does the proposal impose any tax, licensing or reporting
requirement, collection obligation or other obligation or
fee on parties other than those with a physical presence in
a particular state or political subdivision?
- What features of the proposal will impact the revenue
base of federal, state, and local governments?
Burden on Sellers
- Does this proposal remove the financial, logistical, and
administrative compliance burdens of sales and use tax
collections from sellers? Does the proposal include any
special provisions with respect to small, medium-sized, or
start-up businesses?
Discrimination
- Does the proposal treat purchasers of like products or
services in as like a manner as possible through the
implementation of a policy or system that does not
discriminate on the basis of how people buy?
- 10.Does the proposal discriminate against out-of-state
or remote vendors or among different categories of such
vendors?
International
- How does this proposal affect U.S. global
competitiveness and the ability of U.S. businesses to
compete in a global marketplace?
- Can this proposal be scaled to the international
level?
- How does this proposal conform to international tax
systems, including those that are based on source rather
than destination? Is this proposal harmonized with the tax
systems of America’s trading partners?
Technology
- Is the proposal technologically feasible utilizing
widely available software to enable tax collection? If so,
what are the initial costs and the costs for required
updates, and who is to bear those costs?
Privacy
- Does the proposal protect the privacy of purchasers?
Sovereignty/Local Government Autonomy
- Does this proposal respect the sovereignty of states and
Native Americans?
- How does this proposal treat local governments’ autonomy
and their ability to raise a greater or lesser amount of
revenues depending on the needs and desires of their
citizens?
Constitutional
- Is the proposal constitutional?
- Submissions should follow the Federal Register Notice
guidelines below:
- Proposals should be no longer than eight pages,
single-spaced.
- Send thirty (30) hard copies of all written comments to
the address below.
- Send one version of written comments electronically to:
- comments@ecommercecommission.org.
- In addition, electronic copies of submissions must be
sent on a 3.5 inch computer disc or CD-ROM in Microsoft
Word, Excel, or PowerPoint format.
Interested parties should send submissions to:
Advisory Commission on Electronic
Commerce 3401 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA
22201-4498
The Commission may request that selected proposals be
formally presented at the Commission's meeting in San
Francisco. Interested parties should consult the Federal
Register notice (64 FR 55894-55895), published October 15,
1999, or visit the Commission's Web page listed below for
additional details concerning the Commission's invitation
for proposals.
In addition to the above, interested parties are reminded
of the general
invitation to provide comments in writing to the
Commission. Written comments should be provided in accordance
with guidelines published in the Federal Register on August
13, 1999 (64 FR 44183). Comments of a brief nature may be
addressed to the Commission through its Web site at
www.ecommercecommission.org.
Records shall be kept of all Commission proceedings and
shall be available for public inspection given adequate notice
at the Commission's offices at 3401 North Fairfax Dr.,
Arlington, Virginia 22201-4498. In addition, records of
meetings including agendas, transcripts and minutes are posted
as soon as available on the Commission's Web site.
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 |