New York City, NY - September 15, 1999 - The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce held substantive meetings in New York over the past two days to further its Internet taxation debate. Commissioners heard a series of presentations and rolled up their shirtsleeves to wrestle with pivotal issues. In addition to hearing several reports from experts, the Commission named members to the report drafting subcommittee. The members of the drafting subcommittee, are:

• Jim Gilmore, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia
• Dean Andal, chairman, California Board of Equalization
• Richard Parsons, president, Time Warner, Inc.
• David Pottruck, president & co-chief executive officer, Charles Schwab Corporation
• Gary Locke, governor, State of Washington
• Andrew Pincus, general counsel, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Delna Jones, commissioner, Washington County, Oregon
• Robert Pittman, president, chief operating officer, America Online, Inc.
• Stan Sokul, independent consultant, Association for Interactive Media

Further, the Commission approved a resolution from commissioner Grover Norquist, president, Americans for Tax Reform. The resolution endorses the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) position that seeks to make permanent the World Trade Organization's (WTO) temporary moratorium on custom duties on electronic transmissions.

The Webcast of the Commission's New York meeting will be available for viewing Thursday, September 16-23 at http://www.ecommercecommission.org/. The Commission will subsequently post meeting transcripts at its Website.

The Commission will take its next full, face-to-face meeting in San Francisco, December 14 and 15. The location for this meeting is to be announced.

About the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce
Created by Congress in October 1998 as part of the Internet Tax Freedom Act,the 19-member Commission, has been charged with studying the impact of federal, state, local, and international taxation and tariffs on transactions using the Internet and Internet access. Central to the examination of these issues is the fact that the Internet knows no geographical boundaries, and, by its very nature, violates those geographical boundaries that hinder other forms of commerce. Recommendations are due to Congress no later than April 21, 2000. For more information about the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, please visit the Commission's Website at http://www.ecommercecommission.org/